The Earl and the Baker Boy
by FandomFluid
Summary: Born to a poor family, Sebastian has to help his family pay back their debt to the Earl Phantomhive bit by bit, doing everything they can to make the money to make their monthly quota. When The Earl confronts them after they weren't able meet their quota, he makes a deal with the family- He'll ease up on the quota in exchange for taking their son to be employed as his butler.
1. Chapter 1

"Welcome, dear friends. It is with great joy that we welcome children into our world, as children are a gift from God, the source of all life, who now wishes to bestow his own life onto this little one. " The priest said to the mass before turning to the new parents. "What name have you given this child?"

"Sebastian Alexander Michealis." The man replied easily as his tiny, black-haired son wiggled around in his mother's arms, having been dressed in a long white christening gown.

"What do you ask of God's Church for Sebastian Alexander Michaelis?

"Baptism."

"You have asked to have your child baptized. In doing so, you are accepting the responsibility of training him in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him up to keep God's commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?"

"Yes, we do."

"Sebastian Alexander Michaelis, the Christian community welcomes you with great joy. In it's name, I claim you for Christ our Savior by the sign of his cross. I now trace the cross on your forehead, and invite your parents to do the same." The priest said to the baby looking up at him inquisitively. The entire church went silent, save for Sebastian's cooing and gurgling as the priest traced the cross onto his forehead, his parents following suit.

The Mass continued on, despite Sebastian's restlessness. At only about two months old, the baby boy was rather talkative and vocal. His mother tried to gently shush him, though he just grinned up at her, recognizing her face once again and squealing with delight.

The Michaelis family had never been the best off. With the new baby in their house, it was only the father who could work and provide for his little family. He was a carpenter and worked in a rather renowned shop in London. However, times were tough and getting tougher, and the owner of the shop had told them that Friday that the shop would be closing soon enough.

So, it had been a miracle when Earl Phantomhive had commissioned him to build the furniture for the nursery of his own expected child. In return, he'd be paid well for his work, along with being paid a good amount of money he and his wife could borrow to help raise their new son. The only condition was that, once their son was old enough to work, he and his mother would go to work and start to pay him back what they'd borrowed, plus a small bit of interest. They'd have a monthly quota to meet, and if they were unable to do so, then they'd meet with the earl to work something out. The terms were fair, so the little family agreed to them right away.

When Mass ended, the Michaelis family left together with the Church's blessings given to their newly Christened son. They went back to their little house on the outskirts of London together, where they rested the rest of the day and enjoyed the Sabbath together. Sebastian was nursed, and then set in his bassinet to sleep. When he woke, he was changed and his parents both started to play with him as he stopped fussing. The family didn't have much, but they were happy. While the imminent loss of the father's job was rather nerve-wracking, there were other carpentry shops in London he could find work at.

When he was able to, Sebastian got a job at a bakery at the age of seven years old. His wages weren't too high, because he could only do simple little jobs around the bakery. His mother worked as a seamstress at a tailor shop and his father had gotten another job at a carpenter shop. The family set their priorities on meeting the quota every month, meaning that they didn't have quite a lot of money they could set aside for food or clothes. People in their church would help them out, though, bringing them bread to eat and giving them clothes to help dress their constantly growing son, who already stood a bit taller than the other boys his age. With his long legs and thin frame, most the clothes fit rather well, though all his pants ended up being a bit too short on him.

"Sebastian, honey, can you go bring this out to the man in the top hat and his little boy?" A voice asked, breaking the young boy from his trance as he sat in a corner in the kitchen, looking over and studying his letters, trying to copy them down as best he could.

Sebastian looked up from his work to see the baker's wife smiling down at him gently with a tray in her hand with two plates of chocolate cake. He nodded and stood up from the floor before taking the tray and happily walking out from the kitchen to the main area of the bakery. He easily spotted the man in the top hat, who was happily chatting with his own son who had big blue eyes and a wide, happy smile.

He walked over to the pair happily, giving them their plates happily. "Here's your cake, sir."

"Oh, thank you." Vincent replied easily as they got their food from the little boy.

"Thank you!" The little boy with him repeated happily, a wide grin on his face at the sight of the cake.

Sebastian looked over at the other little boy and smiled back at him happily. The other boy was beautiful and little and cute. He decided then and there that one day he'd be marrying him. "You're welcome." He said happily.

"Papa, why's there a little boy working here?" the boy tried to whisper to his father once the serving boy went back to the kitchen once again.

"Some people need extra money to help their family out, so their kids are sent to work as well as their parents. " Vincent explained as he watched his son take a bite of the cake that was a bit too large for his mouth.

"That's so sad." Ciel said, his mouth full of chocolate cake.

"Ciel, don't talk with your mouth full in public. Take smaller bites, too. I don't want you choking." Vincent replied with a laugh, reaching over to get some icing off the corner of the boy's mouth.

"Sorry, Papa." Ciel replied with a small smile and a giggle before starting to eat more of his cake.

Vincent hummed and started to eat his own cake, glancing back over at the tall, almost gangly young boy walking back to the kitchen. The boy had head of messy black hair that fell to his shoulders that looked like it hadn't been properly washed for a while. Mr. Michaelis had told him his son had gotten a job at a bakery, so he figured that could only be him. Vincent just went back to minding his own business, enjoying his cake with his own son.

Sebastian returned to his little corner in the kitchen with the tray easily when he was done with his task. "The little boy out there is pretty. I'm going to marry him one day." He said matter-of-factly to the baker's wife, making a few of the other workers laugh a bit.

"Oh, honey, you're silly. You'll find a little lady who's just as pretty as that boy, if not prettier, and she'll be your wife. Then you'll have nice, pretty little babies." She replied to him, ruffling his hair, though wiping her hand on her apron when she felt how oily and greasy the little boy's hair was.

"But what if I wanna marry him instead?" Sebastian asked curiously. "I want him to be my wife."

"Oh, Sebastian. You can't take another man as a wife, it's not right. You'll have a nice Catholic wedding with a pretty girl, just like I know your parents would like." She replied to her, patting his back as he went back to his corner to practice his letters once again.

Sebastian kept silent, though completely sure that he'd one day marry that boy with the big blue eyes. That way he could wake up next to him every day and kiss his cheek like he always saw his parents do. Sometimes they'd kiss each other's mouths, too, though he didn't think he could ever do that. It just seemed too disgusting.

Every day from that day on, Sebastian would look up when the bell over the door rang, signaling that someone had come inside the shop, hoping that the boy with the pretty blue eyes would come back inside once again. Then, he'd serve him his cake and be able to see his smile once again.

The boy would come in every so often, though not at all as often as Sebastian would have liked. Years passed by with ease, and it was nearing Christmas when he learned why he hadn't seen the blue-eyed boy.

"You wouldn't believe what a customer told me today." Sebastian's father said as they all sat together and ate their dinner of bread and a bit of cheese.

"And you say I'm the gossip of the family." His mother teased with a small smile to him.

"What'd you hear, Papa?" Sebastian piped up.

"Sebastian." His mother scolded him lightly, his parents always having to remind him to keep silent unless he was spoken to. It was impolite for children to be too noisy with guests over and, while they didn't mind, they wanted him to learn so he wouldn't embarrass them when they did have a guest in their home.

"Sorry, Mama." Sebastian said softly, looking down at the stinky cheese and going back to eating it.

"Well, evidently, the Phantomhive manor burned down last night. They say they were able to find the bodies of the Earl and his wife, but their son was nowhere to be found. It can only be assumed he's dead as well." His father said, making his mother gasp at the news before making a cross by touching her forehead, abdomen, and shoulders.

"God be with them." She prayed easily. "Their boy was about Sebastian's age, right?"

"Yes. He was just a bit younger than Sebastian by a few months. " His father replied with a nod and a small frown.

"What did his son look like?" Sebastian piped up again despite being scolded another time.

"I'm not sure, really. The earl said he was small and sickly and had his mother's blue eyes and his dark hair." His father replied.

Sebastian fell silent at that, remembering his blue-eyed boy. Whenever he saw him he was either with a tall man with the same hair as him or a woman who had his eyes. It could have only been the Phantomhive boy he'd grown so fond of, and now he'd never see his blue-eyed boy again. He frowned at the thought, staring down at the half eaten bread in his hands and feeling tears well up in his eyes until he found himself starting to cry.

Sebastian had never really been that easy of a crier, having done the most of his crying in infancy and the first couple years of life. After he turned five, though, it happened ever so rarely as he grew less sensitive and the constant reminders from his father that he was to grow into a man, and men didn't cry.

He felt his mother's arms around him, holding him close against her breast and stroking his dark hair lovingly. "Oh, Sebastian. They're all in a better place now, don't worry." She crooned to him.

Sebastian stayed relatively silent for the rest of the night as his parents tried to comfort him with promises that the family was all in Heaven now, praising him for having such a gentle heart.

His parents prayed for them that night, but otherwise didn't seem all that upset by the deaths. Instead, they seemed relieved, as this meant that they no longer had a debt to pay off and could work on getting back on their feet. Consequently, a few days later, Christmas morning graced Sebastian with a new sweater that was fresh from a store rather than a donation pile from the church. It was black wool with a big cat face knitted into the center and when he wore it, it was relatively large on him, giving him lots of room to wear the comfy thing. He absolutely loved it. After he celebrated his new sweater, his parents decided it was a good day for a bath so they could be clean for the night service at their church that night.

Sebastian sat in the corner and practiced his reading and writing and arithmetic while his mother helped to bath his father in their bath basin, then vice versa. When they were both done, he was called over to sit in the chilled water and let his mother clean his body as much as she could in the dirty water, then his dark hair. He was shivering by the time he got out of the basin and dried off. He then got dressed in his best pair of pants, and his new sweater happily. Once they were all ready to go, they left that night for the service to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with the rest of the church.

January and February flew by with the winter breeze, and soon enough it was March and the weather was steadily growing a bit warmer and warmer. It was the middle of March when a rapping came onto their door while they enjoyed their dinner of the vegetable soup his mother had made. Without the debt to worry over, it was a lot easier for them to keep their heads above the water. They were able to have a better size of meals rather than just bread and cheese. When he needed to get new boots, as his old ones had holes near the toes, they were able to get him a new pair. They were a bit large, but that was so he could wear them as his feet grew to fit them. Plus, it was much easier to wear wool socks with them when there was extra room in them.

The family all looked up at the sharp knock until Sebastian's father stood up to answer the door, finding a stern looking old man outside with a walking stick and a top hat.

"Are you Mr. Michaelis?" the stranger asked.

"Yes, I am." Sebastian's father replied with a nod and a small frown, stepping aside when the older man hit him with his walking stick and walked inside the little house.

"Ah, I see I'm interrupting your dinner. I won't be long; I've just come to deliver a message. Your family still owed money to Earl Phantomhive, yes?"

"Well, yes, but Earl Phantomhive and his wife and hi successor passed on. There's no one to pay."

"Well, that's what everyone thought until about two nights ago. His successor is alive and staying in his family's townhome in London for the time being."

That got Sebastian's attention and he looked over at the old man, pausing the eating of his meal. The blue-eyed boy was alive and well and maybe he'd even come back to the bakery so he could see him. The thought made him smile happily.

"The new Earl Phantomhive would like me to tell you that I'll be serving as the debt collector from here on out, for your family and the others that owe him money. He'll be coming to visit in a few days' time to work something out with your family as to how you'll make up the three months worth of money you missed." The man told the family easily. The man then tipped his hat and bade the family goodnight before leaving the little house, leaving the little family watching after him, dumbfounded.


	2. Chapter 2

The next couple of days were a daze for Sebastian. He'd wake up, have breakfast, go to work, come home, have dinner, and then go to sleep. At work, he'd started to look up whenever the bell over the door rang, hoping to see his blue-eyed boy once again. He didn't see the boy until about three days after the visit from the collector, though, when their dinner was interrupted once again by a sharp rapping on the door. He watched as his father went to answer it once again, the blue-eyed boy standing on the other side, clothed in a nice travelling coat and a top hat, a walking stick in his hand and a hard frown on his face. The blue-eyed boy didn't say a word as he just let himself inside their small house, practically pushing his father aside. He just sat down at their dinner table, crossing one of his legs over the other.

"You're three months behind on your payments. Personally, I'd much rather your family make it all up this month so you can get back on track." He said bluntly to the little family.

"Well, sir, you have to realize that we didn't know we still had money we owed. We thought you had passed on with your parents." Sebastian's father replied.

"I know that. But I'm alive, so that means you need to make up the months you missed somehow. You all have jobs, I assume?"

"Yes, we do. We all work full-time. Well, save for Sebastian, but you know how they're cracking down on children in the workforce. "

"I do. All right, where do you three work? What kind of money are you making?"

"I'm a carpenter, my wife is a seamstress, and Sebastian helps out in a bakery."

Ciel frowned a bit at that, glancing around at the little family. He recognized the other boy from the bakery he'd sometimes visited with his father, but he paid him no mind. The family wasn't exactly making enough money to have enough put away to pay him back what they owed from the past three months right then and there. From the looks of it, they barely had enough for proper meals, let alone bathing as frequently as they should. He then looked around the little house, biting his lower lip in thought.

"Sell your house. Sell this place and move somewhere smaller. I'm sure this place is worth at least two of the three months." Ciel said after a bit.

"The only homes smaller than this more along the lines of one-room shacks." His father pointed out in shock at the idea.

"So, you're worrying more about your dignity than the money you owe me? Look at yourself, Michaelis. You're filthy, your hair is greasy and your family is nearly going hungry. You're the patriarch of this family, do what's best for it." Ciel snapped back to him with a frown before standing up from the table. "Sell your house or doom your family. It's your choice. Either way, I want the money you owe me within the month."

With that, Ciel stalked back out of the house, letting the door slam shut.

Sebastian watched as his father sighed and sat back down at the table with them easily.

"I guess we have no choice, then. We'll have to pack our things and sell this place and move somewhere smaller and cheaper." He sighed with a small frown to his family.

"At least we don't have that much to pack up." Sebastian piped up after a tiny bit of silence, making his parents both laugh softly.

"That's right. At least it won't take too long." His father replied, ruffling his hair lovingly. He sighed as he looked down at his young son. He knew Ciel had been right. Sebastian was much too thin to be healthy. The last time they'd given the boy a bath, he'd had to avert his eyes from the sight of his son's ribs sticking out, able to see almost every vertebrae in his back. The boy was only ten years old and already totally skin and bones.

Within the next few weeks, they were able to sell the house quickly to a young man just looking for a first home, the family moving out of the old house easily and into a smaller one that was really just a shack in a dark alley in the seedier parts of London. It wasn't really all that much, with no lights or much of an actual floor. There were a couple mattresses on the floor, a larger one in one corner and a smaller one in the other. Other than that, there was a small table and little fire pit to cook over. Otherwise, those were the only things that could possibly make the shabby building a home.

"Well, at least we have each other. We're all happy and healthy and the Lord gave us the strength to persevere." Sebastian's father spoke up after they all got settled in together.

They spent the next few years of their life, making do. On one of the walls of the house were a bunch marks on the wall to chart Sebastian's growth as he grew taller and taller, soon becoming tall enough to see over his mother's head and a few inches taller than his father. His parents were amazed at how tall he'd grown and how much he'd grown up in the span of only a few years.

"Oh, how I wish we weren't debtors. You've become so handsome, we could find a nice wife for you and you could have a couple pretty kids and a better life." His mother would often lament as she brushed his bangs from his face. Sebastian personally hated their situation. He had grown to hate the old collector that would always come around to their tiny little house every month and take the money they'd worked hard to get to scrape together, having to watch his parents always worry and stress about the idea that they might not have met their quota for that month. He hated that there was nothing he could do to help them. All he could really do was earn the money he could at the bakery and bring home the rejected loaves of bread for them to eat.

Sebastian sighed as he walked to the bakery in the morning, clutching his thinning, old wool cloak close to him as he walked through the blowing December wind and snow. With Christmas nearing, he had to work hard so customers warm pastries and baked goods they could head home with.

He huffed and puffed into his cold hands, his knuckles red from the cold air as he walked into the bakery, heading straight back to get ready for the day. He helped to get everything in the building ready for the day, opening it up about an hour or so after the sun had risen and the people of the city were starting to move about on their way to their own jobs. It didn't take too long until the usual housewives made their way inside to buy their daily bread, some of them getting their son or daughter a small treat as well. Everything was normal and was going just as it always did.

"Welcome. What can I help you with today?" Sebastian asked when the bell over the door rang and a puff of cold air traveled inside as the door opened, turning back around from getting more bread ready and cooling behind him. He found himself face to face with the ever-so-familiar pair of big blue eyes.

"I'll have a slice of the chocolate cake." Ciel replied easily, his eyes looking down at the freshly made and sliced chocolate cake with the powdered sugar sprinkled over the top.

"Will you want to eat it here, or will you take it to go?" Sebastian asked curiously as he brought the cake out.

"I'll have it here." Ciel replied easily, watching as the tall, lanky baker boy got the slice ready on a nice plate with a napkin and a fork. He paid for the cake promptly and led the baker boy over to the table he wanted to sit at, letting the taller dark haired man serve him the cake.

Sebastian set the plate and silverware in front of Ciel easily before leaving him to eat his cake easily, going back to his work behind the counter. The bakery was relatively quiet and empty. "Hello, what can I get you?" he asked when another man came in a bit later. It wasn't until the man was right in front of him when Sebastian got a good whiff of the stench of alcohol on his person.

"How much is a slice of the devil's food cake right in front of me?" The man asked, reaching over the counter to take Sebastian's chin between his fingers, admiring his face.

"I beg your pardon?" Sebastian asked in shock when the man suddenly touched him, watching as he pushed his dark hair back behind his ear.

"You heard me. How much for a night with you?" The man replied, holding his gaze.

Sebastian was completely dumbstruck, not having any idea what the man was talking about and not entirely sure how to reply. He remembered his parents telling him that there were some men who'd visit women they weren't married to late at night in special houses and do things that were absolutely and totally sinful if they weren't done with a woman the man was married to. Never once had they ever mentioned that a man could want to do those sinful things with another man.

"Hey, does this look like a brothel to you? Get your food or get out." Ciel piped up with a small frown. "Or should I call the Yard and tell them you're trying to buy someone as your homosexual prostitute?"

The man frowned at the threat and huffed, letting the young baker boy go before turning on his heel and heading out of the bakery, leaving Sebastian staring dumbfounded in his wake.

"Can I get another slice to go?" Ciel asked, breaking the silence once again.

Sebastian blinked out of his shock, looking over at the other man at the table. "You're talking to me?"

"Yes, of course I am. You're the Baker Boy, right? Or do you just stand behind there and work in here for shits and giggles?" Ciel replied a bit impatiently with a small frown.

Sebastian clamped his mouth shut at that and moved to get another slice of the cake ready, packaging it neatly to be taken along with Ciel. He set it in a small box, tying it off with a royal blue ribbon and tying the bow on top neatly.

"Are you just not totally there in the mornings, or did you actually not know he was trying to get you to go to bed with him?" Ciel asked curiously when Sebastian came over with the cake and cleared away his dishes.

"Why would he want me to go to bed with him? I have my own bed." Sebastian asked confusedly as he picked up Ciel's dishes and the dirtied napkin.

Ciel blinked at that, staring up at the other man for a bit before sighing in realization. "Oh, that's right. You're the Michaelis boy, your parents are Catholic, of course they wouldn't tell you about any of that."

"My parents tell me everything." Sebastian replied defensively with a small frown down to Ciel.

"Okay. What's a prostitute, then? And what do I mean by 'go to bed'?" Ciel challenged with a small frown in reply to the baker boy.

Sebastian blinked at the question, his first instinct telling him that Ciel was just making up words at that point.

"Look, he wanted to take you away tonight and pay you to have sex with him, alright?" Ciel explained impatiently, amazed at how sheltered the baker boy really was. "How do you not know that? My collector says your family's been living around the Red Light District for a few years now."

"I thought that was for a husband and wife to have children." Sebastian replied softly and honestly.

"Well, that's what Catholics believe. Most people in England are Protestant these days." Ciel replied with a small sigh. "While it's still bad and illegal to buy male prostitutes or be associated with a homosexual brothel, the law doesn't define it as 'sinful'. Just watch out, Baker Boy, or you might end up getting yourself in trouble."

Sebastian just nodded and watched as the boy with the big blue eyes left the building. He just went back to working all through the rest of the day, taking home the rejected loaves of bread for his family to eat. He clutched them close as he walked home through the snow that seeped into his shoes, leaving his feet cold and wet. He kept to himself as he walked home, never straying from his path until he heard a soft crying from nearby. He frowned when he looked down and saw a box of abandoned kittens on the street, all of them huddled together for warmth. Without a second thought, he removed his wool cloak and settled it around them before picking up the box and carrying it home with the bread. He knew the kittens didn't stand a chance without their mother in the winter, but he could keep them warm in their home overnight and see if he could bring them to the bakery so they could find good homes.

He walked home with the box of mewing little kittens, smiling down at the tiny animals and cooing to them gently like a mother would to her baby. "You're going to be alright, don't worry. I'll keep you safe, little ones."

Sebastian got home shortly after his mother and father, smiling to them happily as he brought in the bread and box of kittens.

"What do you have there, Sebastian?" his mother asked curiously, looking up at her taller son.

"They were all alone in the snow, mother. They would have died." Sebastian replied, showing her the box of kittens all cradled up in his cloak.

His mother smiled and sighed a bit, patting his cheek softly. "Oh, sweetheart. You've always been such a gentle boy." She hummed. "I suppose I don't see anything wrong with keeping them warm for tonight. But, know that we can't keep them. We're barely able to take care of ourselves, we can't afford cats."

Sebastian nodded and smiled a bit easily, setting the box of kittens down near the fire in the center of the house so they could warm up with him and his family while they ate their bread for dinner. After dinner came, Sebastian stroked and played with the kittens while his parents counted the money for the collector who'd be coming over soon enough. They counted it once, then again and again, softly hoping that they'd be able to meet the quota.

Sebastian just kept silent as he snuggled and played with the kittens. He couldn't help but remember what Ciel had said about how some people made money during the night through sex. He knew he was already a sinner and would go to hell for the way he felt about the boy with the blue eyes, so he wondered how bad one more sin could be, especially if it meant helping his family financially to meet their quota.

That night, Sebastian went to bed as he usually did, though feigned sleep until he could hear his parents snoring. When he was sure they were asleep, he snuck out of his bed and checked on the sleeping kittens in their box, being warmed by the fire. He then grabbed his cloak and slipped out of the house, only having to wander down a few alleyways until he found the old, run down looking house he'd been looking for. He only had to tell the keeper that he was there to earn money rather spend it and soon enough he found himself being taken by the hand by a taller, middle aged man and lead to an empty room with a bed nicer than one he'd ever slept on before.

The man shut the door behind him and started to kiss him on the mouth like he'd seen his parents do a few times. He just imagined it was the Blue Eyed Boy he was spending the night with, and that made everything better. When the man had him perfectly nude, he turned him over and he felt the other's fingers push into him, the man telling him he was preparing him as it was his first time. The rest of the night went by relatively quickly, both of them lasting only a few minutes after the man had entered him. When they were both finished and panting heavily, the man pulled out of him and collapsed on the bed next to him.

"You're a cute kid. I'll pay you extra to spend the rest of the night in my arms." The man said to him, reaching over to stroke Sebastian's hair.

Sebastian blinked at that and nodded, liking the feeling of the fingers in his hair. It reminded him of the way his mother had always stroked his hair. He let the older man hold him close and stroke his hair, listening to him talk to him until they both fell asleep. When it was about an hour before daybreak, he and the man both left the building, both of them heading to their homes. Sebastian smiled a bit as he carried the money he'd earned home, deciding that if he could help his parents feel more at ease financially, then it was well worth walking with a limp.


	3. Chapter 3

Sebastian frowned a bit as he watched his parents fret over the money they'd earned that month and try to mentally prepare themselves for the visit from the debt collector that would be coming at any moment. When they'd had to give away the kittens, his mother splurged a bit and went out and bought him a small stuffed cat from a toy store to help him feel better about parting with the felines. Now, his parents were worrying if the toy and their other expenses that much had drained them of too much of their money.

He just kept to himself in his corner of the house, hugging the toy close to himself as he listened to his parents fretting with each other for what seemed like forever until a telltale rapping came on their door, making them all jump.

Sebastian's father moved to take care of the door, his mother walking over to her son in the corner to gently hold him and let her husband handle everything. The collector said a simple 'Good evening' to the family before heading straight to work of sitting at their dinner table and counting up the money the family was able to pay. The man's face was smooth and emotionless all the while until he finally stood up from the table and turned to the family.

"The monthly quota wasn't met. The Master will be coming around tomorrow night to negotiate some sort of agreement with you." The man said to them before tipping his top hat to the family and taking his leave, leaving the little family in shock behind him.

The rest of the night was spent wondering what on Earth the Earl's terms would be when trying to come to some sort of agreement on how they could pay back their debt.

Sebastian went to bed, partially wanting to escape for the night to the brothel again, but he knew the money wouldn't help anything. What was done was done and now all they could do was wait and see what the Earl would do. Plus, his hips and lower back were still sore from his last night there, and he wanted to give himself some time to recover.

So, he just hugged his stuffed cat close to himself and curled up under his blanket, tucking his long legs into himself as he slowly fell asleep.

He woke early, just as he always did, his mother gently shaking his shoulder to wake him up, his hair tousled and messy from sleeping. He ate their morning bread with his parents easily.

"Sebastian, try not to worry too much about the Earl. I know how you can get sometimes. Just have a good day at work and we'll see you at dinner, alright?" His mother said to him, straightening his dark hair gently as they all got ready to leave for work together.

"I'll do my best, mother." Sebastian replied with a small smile to her, kissing her cheek softly after he let her fasten his cloak around his shoulders. He bid his parents goodbye easily before leaving for the day to walk through the snow to the bakery.

The day was busy enough to keep his mind occupied and off of the impending visit from the Earl and his big blue eyes. It was only as he was closing up when Sebastian started thinking about the Earl once again, wondering how they'd be able to come to some sort of agreement with him. The last time they'd had to sell their house. If they sold their house again, they wouldn't get a whole lot for it, if anything, and they'd be practically homeless.

Sebastian yawned as he got home, sitting down to have dinner with his parents, the air around them unusually quiet as they all waited to see what their fates would be.

The Earl didn't keep them waiting too long, the sharp rapping of his walking stick against the door breaking the silence in the little house. Sebastian watched his father get up and get the door, letting the young earl inside, watching as the young man walked inside, followed by a tall, elderly, Asian man, who stayed silently standing behind him.

"So, you weren't able to come up with this month's money, hmm? I can't say I'm surprised, it's not like any of you have really good jobs." Ciel commented with a small frown as he looked around the tiny house. Really, though, it was more of a shack than a house. "Well, you can't very well sell this place. You'd barely get a penny for it."

Sebastian frowned a bit, watching as the Earl looked around their home in disdain, his perfect little nose wrinkled a bit in disgust. How such a beautiful person could have such a disgustingly ugly personality, he'd never know. Either way, he didn't really like the way the other seemed to be looking down on them as if they were some sort of burden.

Ciel frowned in thought, glancing up at his butler behind him, then around at the little family. His eyes stopped at the son, looking him up and down curiously as an idea started to form in his head. The other was just a little bit older than he was, but was still quite a bit taller than him, and it seemed like most of his height came from his long legs. He wasn't very muscular, but then again, he didn't have much fat on his bones either. He was thin, obviously malnourished, but surprisingly, he wasn't that terrible to look at. With some time and regular, larger meals, it would be easy to get him up to a healthy weight. The young man was a hard worker, he could tell from the way he'd seen him work at the bakery.

"How about this. My butler, Tanaka, is getting old and has served my family for a long time and now it's time for him to retire. Sebastian young and able bodied. Give him to me to be my butler, and I'll reduce your monthly quota to a third of what it is." Ciel said to the little family after a bit.

"We don't exactly have a choice, though, do we?" Sebastian piped up as he felt his mother wrap her arm around him and start to rub his back.

Ciel looked over at him and frowned. "Excuse me? I didn't know you were the head of this family. Just be happy they've abolished debtors' prisons, or I'd have your entire family rotting in one by now. Now, be a good little boy and sit quietly or get out." He snapped to the other man, not really caring that he was a year older than him. He was still the child of the family and needed to get a better understanding of what his place was.

"Sebastian, please. Don't embarrass us." Sebastian's father said sternly to his son before apologizing to Ciel for his son's insolence.

"Well, that's all well and good, but I'd rather hear it from him." Ciel replied, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared Sebastian down.

"I thought you didn't want to hear me at all." Sebastian replied, matching Ciel's stubbornness.

Ciel's frown hardened and he stood up from his chair and walked over to Sebastian before purposefully using his ringed hand to slap him harshly across the face.

"You really are a burden on your poor parents aren't you? It's because of you that they're in debt, you know. It's your fault. If you hadn't been born, they wouldn't be in this mess. So, if you have a brain, you'll use it and you'll know your place." He spat to the young man sitting in the chair who's eyes widened substantially, a look of shame washing over his face, along with hurt as he started to shrink back in his chair and subconsciously leaning closer to his mother.

"I'm sorry." He said softly.

Ciel sighed as he sat back down, accepting the apology. If Sebastian was to be his new butler, the younger man could very well do with a few lessons on discipline and respect. It wasn't anything he hadn't dealt with, though.

"Excuse me, but will we be able to see him again? He will be living with you, right?" Sebastian's mother asked as she stroked her son's hair soothingly.

"If he does well and behaves himself, I don't see why he can't visit you occasionally." Ciel replied with a nod to her.

"And, of course, we can always write to him." Sebastian's father spoke up, looking over at his wife who looked very uncertain about seeing her little boy go.

"I suppose you're right about that. And it is a very kind offer." She agreed with a small sigh, looking over at her teenage son, scrubbing a bit of dirt off of his cheek with her thumb. "I suppose you were going to leave the nest eventually, anyways."

"Is that an agreement, then?" Ciel asked curiously as he watched the family.

Sebastian watched as his parents exchanged a look and a nod, sealing his fate without so much as giving him a say in it.

"Yes, we'll agree to your terms." His father said to Ciel easily.

"Wonderful. Have him at my manor no later than six tomorrow morning." Ciel replied to them easily, standing up from the table, shaking the father's hand and then moving to leave the little family and the little house.

"My little boy, an aristocrat's butler. I can't wait to tell the other ladies at church." Sebastian's mother said, breaking the silence, kissing her son's cheek gently.

"It is a very respectable line of work. Plus, at your age, it's even more impressive." His father agreed as he sat down with his family at the table.

"You'll be a lot better off living with the Earl than you ever would be here. Think about it, baby boy. You'll have a good, warm bed and enough food to fill your belly. You'll be able to have baths far more often and you'll probably even have custom tailored clothes to fit you." His mother said with a smile to him.

Sebastian nodded and couldn't help but smile a bit at the thought of a warm bed, a wardrobe filled with clothes that fit him properly, meals that consisted of more than bread and maybe soup, and a big bathtub filled with hot water that he wouldn't have to share with anyone else, as well as proper soaps to clean his hair and his body. While he'd still be a servant, and still lower class, he'd be an upper level servant, so it wasn't that bad. Plus, butlers were generally rather well respected. They weren't as highly respected as the masters they served, but they weren't really looked down on too often.

That night, they all shared a bed, the little family snuggling together and keeping each other warm all through the night until they woke in the morning before the sun had even started to rise. They broke their fast on bread, as per usual, and Sebastian gathered up the few belongings he had. He donned his cloak, and took his stuffed cat, the blanket his mother had swaddled him in as a baby, and the few articles of clothing he had.

He headed out with his parents, walking with them down the streets and through the snow, walking for a few miles to the Phantomhive Manor until they stopped at the large, iron front gates, seeing the older man from the previous night emerge from the manor and walking over to them across the huge front yard.

"I suppose this is where we'll leave you. Here, take these too." Sebastian's mother said with a small sigh, handing him a copy of the Holy Bible along with a string of rosary beads.

Sebastian nodded and took them from her, letting his mother hug him tightly, tears springing to her eyes as she held him, his father joining in and hugging him as well.

"You need to promise us you'll write often, alright?" His mother said to him, pulling away from the hug when Tanaka came up to the gate, unlocking it from the inside.

"Of course, mother." Sebastian replied to her with a small smile, kissing her cheek gently.

"Be good, alright? I know how headstrong you can be. Be good and do as you're told so we can see you again soon." His father said to him easily, both of them giving their son one last squeeze before finally letting him go to go through the front gate and into the large manor with the older man.

Tanaka lead the younger, taller man into the house, glancing over at him and noticing the telltale wrinkle between his thin eyebrows that showed how he was trying to mask his distress. He decided not to make any mention of it, though, not wanting to embarrass the younger man.

"I never did get a chance to properly introduce myself last night. I'm Tanaka, the current butler. I'll be helping you get used to everything, and if you ever need help with anything, you can come to me." The older man said kindly to him.

Sebastian looked over at Tanaka at that and smiled a bit to him. "Thank you. I'm Sebastian." He replied, walking with the other man through the manor and down a few hallways until they stopped outside a plain white door that Tanaka unlocked easily before letting them both inside.

The room was a nice sized bedroom with hard wood floors, a bed big enough for one person, a wardrobe that looked to be made of good quality wood, a small desk, and a fireplace with wood ready inside it for him to light to keep him warm in the room at night.

"This will be your room. As of right now, you won't find anything in the armoire, because we didn't know your measurements. So, our regular tailor will be coming around later on today to have your uniforms made. Just a fair warning, the tailor, Miss Hopkins, can be rather overbearing. I advise just cooperating and letting her work the way she sees fit." Tanaka said to him easily as Sebastian set his things down on the bed easily, getting a feel for the room. "Until then, I have orders to get you ready and presentable. I'll get a bath drawn for you in the servants' bathroom. Try to wash yourself quickly, as I'll have to cut your hair and that will take some time. Then I'll introduce you to the other servants and we'll wake the young master together."

Sebastian nodded and walked out of the room with Tanaka, letting the man lead him off to the servants' bathroom, the man drawing the bath for him and getting out a clean towel.

"I'll be back with some clean clothes you can wear. I apologize, though, if they don't fit you. You are a rather tall man, but I'll do my best." Tanaka said to Sebastian with a small smile.

Sebastian nodded and watched as Tanaka left the room, the bathtub filling with water as Sebastian stripped off his old, dirty clothes. When the tub was full, he turned the water off and stepped into the tub, humming at the feeling of the hot water on his skin. He wanted to be able to soak and relax, but he knew he didn't have much time, so he got to work washing his hair with the shampoo and conditioner provided, lathering them into his dark hair and dunking his head back in the water to rinse it all out. He then set to work on washing off his body, looking up when Tanaka walked back into the room.

Tanaka kept his face smooth despite his shock of seeing Sebastian's nude body. It wasn't the fact that the other was nude that shocked him, of course, but the fact that he could see nearly each of his ribs. He averted his gaze to give the other privacy, though making a mental note to make sure he had breakfast with the rest of the servants.

"When you're ready, here are some clothes you can wear. Change into them and then meet me outside." Tanaka instructed.

Sebastian nodded easily to the older man, waiting until he was out of the room to get out of the tub. He towel dried himself and his hair before putting the clothes on that Tanaka had laid out for him. The clothes were a bit loose on him and the pants were a bit short, but otherwise, they fit relatively well. He looked over at himself in the mirror over the sink, making sure he didn't look too terrible before he left the room to meet Tanaka outside.

"Wonderful. I'll cut your hair while it's still wet, then you'll have breakfast and meet the rest of the servants." Tanaka said to him, leading him to an empty room.

Sebastian sat down in the chair Tanaka had pulled out for him, letting the other drape a cape around his front, tying it behind his neck and pulling his long hair out from underneath.

Tanaka walked out in front of him and tilted his head up a bit to examine his face and his dark hair. "I think I have an idea for something that might look good on you. However, it is a bit unconventional. Is that something you'd be alright with?" he asked curiously.

Sebastian looked up at the older man and nodded. "I think I'd be fine with anything, sir."

Tanaka smiled at that and nodded before heading to work. He started off by layering the other's hair, giving it a bit more texture. He then cut the back of his hair a bit shorter so that it ended at the nape of his neck. He trimmed the sides and shaped them up a bit, though leaving them chin-length. He trimmed the rest of his hair that seemed to always want to end up in his face. When it was all said and done, Tanaka stepped back to look at his work.

Sebastian's hair was shorter but it seemed to suit him more now, than when it had been simply been laying flat on his head. It was nice and textured now, albeit a bit messy, bits and pieces of it curling upwards and sticking out.

"You know, I like it. I think it really suits you." Tanaka said, helping the other out of the chair to lead him back to the bathroom so he could see what his hair looked like for himself.

Sebastian blinked at the sight of himself in the mirror. He did look rather different. He looked almost more put-together, and he looked a bit older than he used to. "I like it, too. Thank you, it's very nice." He said to Tanaka with a nod and a smile, unaware of the three pairs of eyes watching them from the doorway.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This took so long! Sooooo sorry! I had a lot of stuff to do for college and was super busy. But I'm on break now, so I'm going to try to be better. Thanks so much for your support and your patience.**

Tanaka smiled softly to Sebastian. "Come along, then. I'll introduce you to the others and we'll have breakfast." He replied easily to the younger man, moving to open the door, though pausing when he heard a few gasps, followed by graceless thuds.

Sebastian looked around Tanaka as the man opened the door further, looking down at the three people who'd all fallen to the floor when the door had opened so suddenly.

The trio comprised of two blonde men and a red headed young woman. The smaller of the two blondes looked rather young, and Sebastian decided that he couldn't have been any older than he was. He had big green eyes and his blonde hair was a mess on top of his head, tamed only by the red clips he used to keep his hair out of his face.

The other blonde seemed much older than Sebastian. His blonde hair was just as messy as the other blonde's, though was shorter and had nothing to tame it at all. His face was scruffy and unshaven, and he wore a chef's coat like he'd seen the chefs in the bakery wear. However, this man smelled strongly of smoke and tobacco, rather than anything you'd want to find in a kitchen.

The young woman was dressed as a maid with boots laced up to her knees. She kept her hair up in pigtails and kept her eyes hidden behind large, round glasses that seemed old and had a crack in one of the lenses. She looked up and made eye contact with him before her cheeks grew pink and she quickly looked away.

"Well, It seems we don't have to wait too long to meet the others." Tanaka mused. "Sebastian, this is Finnian, Baldroy, and Mey-Rin. Finnian is the gardener, Baldroy's the chef, and Mey-Rin's the maid. Everyone, this is Sebastian Michaelis, I'm going to be showing him the ropes today and tomorrow, and then he'll be in charge."

Sebastian stood a bit awkwardly as the other three servants took the new information in. Baldroy stepped forward after spending a bit of time sizing the new man up. He grabbed the other's wrist, easily wrapping two of his fingers around it.

"God Almighty, you're puny. No wonder those clothes look kinda big on you. Okay, let's go have breakfast." The chef said, patting Sebastian's back and leading him off down the hall and into the kitchen, the other servants following along behind happily.

"You're gonna be the new butler? That's so cool! Wow, you're so tall! Say, how old are you, Mister?" Finnian asked as soon as they'd gotten to the kitchen, looking up at Sebastian with a big grin on his face.

Sebastian blinked at the sudden enthusiasm, looking down at the other. "I'm seventeen."

"Whoa, really? That's just one year older than me!" Finnian exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down with glee.

"You're only seventeen? Geez, you're just a kid. What're you doing working in a big old place like this?" Bard asked as he started cracking the eggs, cursing under his breath when he had to start picking the shells out of the bowl.

"It's a rather long story." Sebastian replied with a shake of his head, moving over to gently take the egg from the Chef's hand. "You don't need to be so forceful with the egg. It's delicate enough to crack easily." He said, showing the man how to properly crack the thing open.

Bard blinked when the newest servant slid the egg from his hands and flawlessly cracked it into the bowl. "…Right. Gotcha." He replied a bit awkwardly, letting Sebastian take care of the eggs.

"Mr. Sebastian, you're really tall! How tall do you think you are?" Finny asked, more and more enthralled by the shiny new servant.

"I'm not all that sure, really." Sebastian replied honestly to Finny as he took care of cracking the eggs.

"Let's measure you against the wall like we do with Young Master, then!" Finny suggested, grabbing Sebastian's free hand and tugging at it a bit. "Mey-Rin, get the tape measure please!"

Sebastian finished with the eggs before giving in to Finny's rather forceful tugs as the gardener lead him off to a spot on the wall, pushing his shoulders back so he had his back flat against the wall. Finny then got up on a chair and used a pencil to mark where the top of Sebastian's head had been.

"Okay! Let's measure now!" Finny said as Mey-Rin came back with the tape measure.

Sebastian stood back and watched as the pair put the end of the tape measure to the mark, letting the roll drop to the floor. Finny held the top while Mey-Rin knelt down on the ground, holding the measure taut against the wall to read the number at the floor.

"I-It looks like you're about 185 centimeters, Mr. Sebastian." Mey-Rin read off, looking up at the tall, handsome young man standing above her.

"I see. Is that good?" Sebastian asked curiously.

"Yeah, that's good. You're a pretty tall fella." Bard replied to him, taking over the cooking when the other servants had stolen away their new butler-in-training. "Probably has something to do with the fact that you're about seventy five percent leg."

Sebastian looked back at Bard, and then glanced down at his legs. He'd known they were relatively long, but he hadn't known they were that long.

"That tailor's gonna have her work cut out for her when she makes your uniform. I think the pants will have to be custom made and patterned and all that." Bard commented as the all got back to work on their breakfast.

"I suppose it will take quite some time, then?"

"Well, supposedly, yeah. That lady's like a tornado when she gets going, though. I've only seen her in action once before when she was making clothes for the Young Master. I feel like she'll be done in a few hours, but it certainly won't take all day."

Sebastian cocked an eyebrow at the idea of one tailor being able to make a whole uniform from scratch in only a few hours. He honestly didn't think it would be possible whatsoever, especially since he would need more than one uniform, since he would be wearing them every single day. He decided not to question it too much, though, figuring he'd just have to see it for himself.

They worked together to make the breakfast together until they'd finally set the little servants' table in the kitchen. With that, they all sat together at the table and started to eat together contently.

Sebastian ate his fill, unable to eat too much of the food as he wasn't used to eating too much just yet. When they'd all finished, he prepared Ciel's morning tea and breakfast with Bard and Tanaka helping him along while Bard cleaned the dishes.

He did his best to remember everything as they taught him and, soon enough, he had a tray with tea and fresh scones in his hands and was following Tanaka out of the kitchen. The older man led him down the hallways of the huge mansion and then up the grand staircase to the second level. They went down yet another hallway and stopped in front of one of the doors. Sebastian couldn't help but notice how plush the carpeting was under his shoes. Part of him wondered what it would feel like if he stood on it with bare feet and how much it would squish under his feet and how soft it would be.

He watched as Tanaka silently opened the door and let the two of them into the bedroom that was about the size of his family's home, if not bigger. He looked around it in awe, noticing the doors on either side of the room, wondering where each one lead. In the room was a bed that seemed absolutely colossal and he couldn't wonder why any one person would ever need a bed so large. He then spotted the small form curled up under the blankets that was fast asleep in the middle of the bed. As he walked a bit closer, Ciel's face became clearer and he couldn't help but smile softly at the sight of the other's rather adorable sleeping face. He stayed off to the side as he watched Tanaka draw open the drapes and let the sunlight into the large room.

Ciel stirred in his bed and groaned in protest, turning over to bury his face into a pillow.

"Young Master, it's time for you to wake up." Tanaka said to Ciel and gently shook his shoulder before pulling the blankets off of him. "The young master likes to be stubborn and try to stay abed. It will be your job to match his stubbornness and insist he gets out of bed so we can keep on schedule." The man said to Sebastian as Ciel groaned some more before finally cracking his blue eyes open.

Ciel opened his eyes and blinked a bit before rubbing them as he sat up in his bed, getting adjusted to the bright light of the morning. When they'd finally adjusted, he looked over at Sebastian, who was standing clueless behind Tanaka with a tray of tea and scones. The man was nice and clean with a new haircut that seemed to suit his face much better.

"Once the young master is awake, always pour his tea and serve it to him." Tanaka instructed, moving to perform the task so Sebastian could watch and learn.

"No, " Ciel said, cutting the older butler off. "He should do it. There's no need to baby him."

Tanaka nodded and set the teapot down onto the tray again. He took the tray from Sebastian and gave a nod to him.

Sebastian couldn't help but start to feel nervousness and the pressure to do well start to set in. Tanaka and the other servants had seemed patient, but the hard frown on Ciel's face and the way he stared at him made his heart start to beat faster. However, he was generally used to his heart beating faster whenever Ciel was around.

Sebastian took the teapot and teacup and poured the liquid into it before carrying it carefully over to Ciel so it wouldn't spill. He did his best not to pay it any mind when Ciel's fingers graced over his own for just a moment before he took the cup and pulled his hands away.

"Now, we'll set his scone on his bedside table and let him eat while we get his clothes for the day." Tanaka said to Sebastian, watching as the younger man nodded and promptly set the little plate with the scone down onto the bedside table.

"This tea is nice, but unfamiliar. What kind is it?" Ciel asked while the two butlers went to one of the doors that lead to his dressing room.

"That would be chocolate mint, sir. It struck me as something you would enjoy." Tanaka replied easily to Ciel, letting Sebastian into the dressing room. He explained all the components Ciel would need to wear to be properly dressed and let the new butler choose the ensemble.

Sebastian looked through the large selection of shirts, pants, coats, hats, and all sorts of clothing, noticing that all of them were in darker or neutral colors. He figured it was for the best, though, as Ciel wouldn't look as good in bright, ostentatious colors.

He chose an outfit he figured would look nice on his new master. With a history in decorating cakes, he had a good idea of how colors worked with and against each other. While he didn't have much of an idea about how fashion generally worked, he figured he could do his best with his knowledge of colors. So, he chose an outfit that was mainly black and white with a royal blue as an accent color.

He walked back out to Ciel as the younger man sipped his tea and ate his scone easily.

"Alright, now go ahead and dress him." Tanaka instructed gently to Sebastian, who looked a bit shocked when it sunk in that he'd have to strip Ciel nude in order to dress him for the day.

"But, isn't that indecent?" Sebastian asked a bit worriedly.

"Not if it's your master. You are here to serve him and make his difficult life easier. It's your duty to help him wherever he needs it. Dressing and undressing him is simply one of those duties." Tanaka replied to him before nodding to him to silently tell him to continue on.

Sebastian swallowed and nodded before obediently moving to start unbuttoning Ciel's long nightshirt. "Excuse me." He said as he unbuttoned lower and lower on the younger man until the nightshirt was off and the young earl was seated before him in his underwear.

Ciel stood up for Sebastian when the other man moved to remove his underwear for him, not missing the way Sebastian flushed and averted his eyes. He couldn't help but wonder if it was possible that any one person could be so chaste. Sebastian seemed to be trying rather hard to preserve every ounce of chastity that he had.

"It's not like you're undressing a woman, you know. I have everything that you do." He commented as the other helped him into his new, clean pair of underwear for the day.

"I-I'm sorry, young master." Sebastian replied, a bit embarrassed of himself as he moved to help Ciel into his white button down shirt.

Ciel said nothing in reply and just watched as Ciel dressed him in the clothes, the other man seeming hesitant to put his hands on his hips at all when he went to tuck his shirt into his pants.

Sebastian couldn't help but feel a bit nervous as he gently set his hands on Ciel's hips and tucked his shirt into his pants, hoping Ciel wasn't bothered by the feeling of a strange man's hands on his hips. The thought of it seemed to trigger memories of his own recent past of all the strangers he'd allowed to touch and feel his body for the sake of his family.

Soon, that part was over, though, and he moved on to finish dressing him with his coat, socks, shoes, and the large blue ribbon he tied around his neck.

Tanaka smiled softly to Sebastian and handed him a comb for Ciel's messy hair. Sebastian took it easily and moved to start combing through and taming Ciel's hair for him, making sure it was absolutely perfect.

"Now, lead him to the mirror in his dressing room to see if it meets with his approval." Tanaka directed.

Sebastian nodded and gently let Ciel take his hand and slide off the bed before walking with the younger man to the large mirror to let him look himself over.

Ciel examined himself in the mirror carefully before nodding in approval. "It's fine. I want breakfast." He said after a bit before turning to leave the room, knowing his butlers would follow behind him like a pair of shadows.

"You serve him his breakfast, and I'll call the tailor." Tanaka said softly to Sebastian with a reassuring nod.

Sebastian nodded and moved to go to the kitchen to get Ciel's breakfast for him. He gladly accepted the small shot of espresso Bard offered him, having started to feel the effects of the long morning. It didn't help at all that the rest of the day would be even longer.


	5. Chapter 5

Sebastian got Ciel's breakfast and moved to carry it to the large dining room to the young earl. He set the meal down in front of the other, uncovering it with ease before stepping back to let Ciel eat in peace.

"The tailor will be here in half an hour." Tanaka said, making the younger man jump in shock, as he'd been almost completely silent when walking into the room.

Sebastian held a hand over his heart as he worked to calm down once again. He nodded in understanding, looking over at the older man.

"I told her to come to the back entrance, but she never has before, so I'm sure she won't." Tanaka continued softly to the younger man. "She is an overbearing young woman, but she doesn't bite."

Sebastian nodded, part of him getting a bit nervous about the tailor and the idea of showing a strange woman his nude body, something he'd been told he had to save for his future wife only. Plus, he knew he was unhealthy and too thin, and therefore likely wouldn't be all that pleasant to look at.

"Who made this food? It doesn't taste like Bard's cooking." Ciel piped up after a few minutes of eating in silence. For once the food actually tasted rather good, instead of just edible like usual.

"I helped him out, master." Sebastian replied honestly to Ciel.

"Hmm. Help him out more often, then." Ciel replied easily before going back to eating his food.

Sebastian blinked a bit at the veiled praise and smiled softly. "I'll be sure to, sir." He replied before falling silent once again until Ciel had finished eating his food. When he was finished, Sebastian stepped forward to clear away the dishes as Ciel moved to leave the room.

Ciel glanced over to the side at Sebastian as the new servant worked to clear away the dirtied dishes. He crooked a finger to beckon Tanaka down closer to him.

"Let Baldroy know that, from here on out, Sebastian is to cook my food for me unless given prior notice." He whispered to the older butler, who nodded in reply.

Ciel glanced back at Sebastian as the young man worked in the clothes that were just a bit too large for his thin stature. He couldn't help but wonder what Sebastian would look like in a proper butler's uniform that was well tailored to suit his form and his assets. The earl stopped himself from thinking any further on the subject and, without a word, turned away and left the room to go up to his office and start on his work for the day.

Sebastian tended to the chores for a bit longer until a knocking on the front door interrupted him. He and Tanaka went to answer it, Tanaka taking charge for the most part while he acted as the man's shadow.

"Miss Hopkins, come in." Tanaka said to her, stepping aside as she walked in.

Sebastian felt his eyes widen at the sight of the woman. She was dressed relatively conventionally, save for the waistcoat and blouse that had been cut so low that a few less centimeters of fabric would have her falling out of her clothing right there on the doorstep.

"Ah, so this is my newest victim." Nina said with a smile as she stood in front of Sebastian, looking him up and down. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Little Butler. Do you have a mother?"

"I-yes." Sebastian replied, not quite sure how to respond to the woman.

"Then you should know that a pair of breasts are no big deal. Besides, you've been even closer to a pair in your lifetime. Plus, you need to flaunt your assets. These babies get me a lot of things for free." Nina replied to him, setting down her trunk of supplies and moving to take hold of his clothes and pull them taut against his body. "Dear God, you're practically swimming in this old thing. Alright, let's get to work then."

Tanaka nodded and led them off to the drawing room of the manor.

Nina set her things down and got them all arranged. "You, Little Butler. Go ahead and strip for me." She directed.

Sebastian swallowed and looked over at Tanaka, who just nodded to him. He sighed softly and obediently started to remove the old suit until he was standing in his socks and underpants, the cold air making goosebumps appear on his arms and thighs.

Nina looked up when the man stood in front of her, stripped nude. "Mother of God. Get some food for this boy. It's one thing to be healthily thin, it's another thing to see every rib through his skin." She said to Tanaka as she approached Sebastian.

"You must have had a rough time coming. They'll feed you well here, not to worry. You clothes will be a bit roomy now, but I give it a month until you've grown to fit them." Nina said softly to Sebastian before looking him over to take in his features and try to account for the weight he would gain once properly nourished. He had rather long legs, so a pair of high-waisted pants would accentuate them. His waist was rather small and he had nice hips. Overall, once he got some more meat on his bones, he would be conventionally attractive. Until then, he could get by with just his facial features if he needed it.

Nina examined him and measured him before setting to work on the designs for the uniform, quickly sketching various detailed designs of decorated uniforms that were meant to accentuate his youth and the high social status of his master.

Sebastian padded over to her to watch as she sketched away, the woman completely engrossed in what she was doing. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off as the door to the room opened as Ciel walked in.

"How are things coming down here?" Ciel asked, sauntering over to stand next to his new, nude butler.

"Master. I thought you were working." Sebastian said, quickly crossing his arms over his chest in an attempt to cover his body at least a little bit.

"I was. Then, I got bored." Ciel replied simply, looking over at Sebastian.

Sebastian was about to comment on how little time Ciel had spent even trying to work, but he got cut off when Nina proudly showed them designs to ask them what they thought of them.

"It's too much. It's gaudy and unnecessarily decorated." Sebastian replied to her honestly.

"Well, tell us what you really think, Mr. Hardhead." Nina bit back with a frown to him.

"You're designing a uniform for the butler of an earl, not the other way around." Sebastian said to her easily.

Nina just wrinkled her nose at him in contempt before turning her attention to Ciel. "Your new butler's got a mouth on him, earl. Perhaps too much of one."

"No, he's right. The uniform looks more like one of the outfits you make for me rather than something for a servant." Ciel said easily.

Nina sighed and obediently drew a quick sketch of a much simpler uniform that would still accentuate Sebastian's features. The new design consisted of a pair of high-waisted black pants with a grey stripe down the sides of the legs, a white button down shirt, black necktie, grey and black waistcoat, a black double-breasted tailcoat, and a pair of white gloves.

"There. How's that?" She asked when she'd finished, showing the pair the new design.

"I like it a lot better." Sebastian said easily, looking down at Ciel to see what his opinion was.

"He's right, that more suitable for a butler." Ciel agreed as he looked over the design, watching as Nina leapt back into action, measuring Sebastian's nude body one more time to make sure all her numbers were perfectly accurate.

"I assume you will need multiple days to get these done?" Sebastian asked as Nina measured his long legs once again, asking him to hold one end of the measuring tape at his waist.

"Think again. I'm the best tailor in London, if not the entire British Empire, for a good reason. They'll be done in a few hours." Nina replied to him with a proud grin as she moved to measure the width of his hips once again before finishing up. "Now, you get dressed and get back to your work and check on me again in a couple hours." She said, patting his backside playfully.

Sebastian jumped at the little slap to his backside and moved to get dressed once again, gravitating over towards Ciel without any thought.

"Don't let her bother you. She treats everyone like that." Ciel said softly to his new butler as the other man got dressed and covered once again, looking up at the young man. "Also, from now on, you're going to be acting as my chef as well as my butler."

"Sir?" Sebastian asked in confusion at the new information as he tucked his shirt into his pants.

"You heard me. Bard's not that great of a chef and I'd rather eat food that's edible. He'll be useful in other ways." Ciel replied to him seriously. "So, add making my food to your list of duties. Speaking of which, I want cake with my tea this afternoon, so see to that. A chocolate cake, preferably."

Sebastian blinked at the onslaught of new information as he dressed himself. Now, not only did he have to figure out what exactly his duties as butler were, he had to worry about being the chef as well, starting with figuring out which of Ciel's fancy teas would go best with a chocolate cake that he would have to find the time to make in the next couple of hours.

"Oh, and if you have Tanaka help you, he'll let me know. So, don't have him help you on anything. It's better to learn by doing than just watching." Ciel said to him with a hard frown. In reality, he'd never arranged anything with Tanaka to make the old butler report back to him on whether or not Sebastian had ever needed help. He just wanted to see how well the new servant would hold up under pressure, as he wouldn't necessarily have Tanaka around to help him once he really got started as butler.

Sebastian stared in disbelief down at Ciel, wondering how on earth one person could possibly handle all the tasks the young earl had just given him without asking for any help from his senior.

"Is there a problem? If you can't handle it, you can go home to your parents, you know. Tell them you're too weak willed to handle the real world and go back to the comfort of poverty and starvation." Ciel said to him with a frown, maintaining eye contact all the while.

"There's not a problem with it at all, sir." Sebastian replied to him, wondering what on earth he had ever done to make Ciel want to treat him so harshly. Was the boy testing him, or was he always that much of a brat?

"Good, now get back to work." Ciel replied to him easily. "Oh, one last thing. Tomorrow you will come with me to town, so make sure a carriage will be ready after breakfast."

Sebastian nodded to Ciel obediently before giving a small bow and leaving the room to go off to figure out which of his duties he ought to attend to. Before he could get much thought in, though, he was cut off by a harsh shriek followed by a crash and the sound of a lot of glass breaking. He moved to rush over to the china cabinets the sound had come from, finding Mey-Rin on the floor with a set of teacups broken all around her.

"Mey-Rin, are you alright?" Sebastian asked curiously, moving to carefully help her to her feet and away from all the shards of broken glass.

"Ah, yes, I'll be alright. I'll have to try and be better about this next time, yes I will." Mey-Rin replied sheepishly.

"Yes you will." Sebastian agreed with a nod. "I assume you can take care of cleaning this all up?"

"Of course, Mr. Sebastian." She replied quickly with a nod.

Sebastian nodded and walked around the mess to get to work on planning Ciel's lunch in the kitchen and making sure everything was in order for his requested chocolate cake.

Ciel watched as Sebastian rushed off to do as he was told. He knew the threat of him sending Sebastian off to live in poverty and starvation once again if he didn't meet the standards that had been set for him. However, Ciel had no intention to heartlessly send the baker boy back to that tiny shack of a home, back to a life of never knowing the feeling of truly having a filled stomach. It would take a good while, but Ciel wanted to be able to see Sebastian smile as widely as he would whenever he'd serve him a slice of cake or whatever sweet he'd ordered at the bakery.

The other had always been so happy, his eyes lighting up with joy whenever he'd see him and give him his sweet. Ciel would often smile back, though whether it was because of the sweets he knew would be delicious or because of how contagious Sebastian's smile was, he couldn't be sure.

On the other hand, though, Ciel wanted to push Sebastian as hard as he could without breaking him. He wanted to make the other man the best butler in the British Empire, someone he could show off with pride. Sebastian was already tall and very attractive. All he had to do was help the other hone all the skills he needed to be a great butler and he would be set.

After a bit, Ciel left to let Nina work, heading back up to his study to try and work on his paper work. Usually, the paperwork wasn't too easy to focus on, but today seemed like it was even worse than usual. Ciel's mind kept going back to his new butler. He thought about the man's new haircut that seemed to suit him a lot better. He thought about how the man looked, standing almost totally nude in the drawing room, his ribs and spine clearly visible through his pale skin. On one hand, he was pitifully thin. On the other hand, though, he was still extremely attractive. When Ciel had let his eyes pan down the other's body, he saw the little dimples on his lower back just above his hips. His legs were long and slim, and if there was any hair on them, it was very light and fine. His hips, though, made Ciel force himself to look away after only a moment of staring. His backside was enough to make even the pious priest consider sinning for just a little bit. It wasn't too large or small or muscular. It was perfectly round and Ciel couldn't help but wonder if it was as soft to the touch as it looked.

After a while of daydreaming, the time had caught up with Ciel and suddenly Sebastian was knocking on his door, asking if he was ready to have lunch.

"Oh, yes. Bring it in." Ciel replied, clearing off a spot on his desk as Sebastian walked into the room with the light meal on a silver platter. Ciel watched as Sebastian moved about, the other man seeming tense and focused, as if mortally afraid of making a single mistake, especially in front of him. He didn't want Sebastian to be afraid of him, but he also found Sebastian's puppyish eagerness to please rather endearing.

Sebastian set the meal down on the desk in front of him with care, making sure everything was absolutely perfect.

"Have you checked in with Nina yet to see how she's doing?" Ciel asked as he moved to start eating the food, glancing up just in time to see the flicker of panic and uncertainty in Sebastian's eyes.

"No, sir, I haven't. I will as soon as you dismiss me, though." Sebastian replied honestly. He'd been so busy worrying and obsessing over making food and planning Ciel's lunch and snack that he'd completely forgotten about the tailor and that he was supposed to check in on her every so often, just in case.

Ciel nodded to Sebastian started to eat the salad and fish Sebastian had made for him, fighting the urge to sigh with pleasure at the taste of the food. If there was one thing Sebastian didn't need help with, it was cooking and baking. If nothing else, Sebastian definitely knew his way around a kitchen.

"I'll call you back up when I'm finished. You can go and check on Nina now." Ciel said to Sebastian, waving the young man off, watching as Sebastian nodded quickly, bowed, and hurried out of the room.

Sebastian rushed out of the room, sighing with relief when Ciel hadn't said anything bad to him or criticized anything in particular. He figured, if he kept up the momentum he was at, he would be able to get through that first day.

He went down to the drawing room, gently knocking on the door before opening it to look inside as the tailor worked away, almost at a feverish pace. "Miss Nina? How are things coming in here?" He asked, letting himself inside as he watched her at work.

Nina glanced over at him as he came over to her. "Oh, great timing. I need you to try that one on." She said, pointing to a finished suit lying off to the side in a neatly folded pile.

"You already finished one?" Sebastian asked in awe, moving over to the suit that was ready.

"Of course I did." She replied without looking away from her work.

"Then, what are you working on now?" Sebastian asked curiously, moving to strip down so he could change into the new suit.

"Well, you didn't think you'd just be getting one, did you? You need more than one uniform to get you by. You'll need three to five, I'd say."

Sebastian nodded and moved to pull on the new white shirt first, buttoning it up. He then pulled on the pants, blinking when he found that they fit his slim, long legs perfectly. He then tucked the shirt in, pulled on the tie, then the vest, and finally the black tailcoat.

Nina turned around to look at him after a bit, smiling a bit as she caught him admiring the suit. "I was right. It suits you." She said, getting up to examine him wearing her creation. It was a little loose, but he would soon fill it out as he got to a healthy weight. Otherwise, it fit him absolutely perfectly.

Ciel ate his lunch rather quickly, having a hard time restraining himself from the delicious meal. After deciding he didn't want to scream for his butler, he headed down the stairs to find Sebastian.

"Sebastian, you can take my dishes now." He said as he pushed open the door to the drawing room, pausing when he saw Sebastian in the new suit Nina had made for him. For whatever reason, he felt his voice catch in his throat and his heart start to pound at the sight.

"Do you like it master?" Sebastian asked him with a happy smile, turning his attention over to Ciel. That smile that showed off his perfect, white teeth and made his eyes sparkle and dance didn't help anything at all.

"It looks good. Nina did a good job." Ciel just replied after finding his voice again. With that, he ducked out of the room, oddly eager to get back to his paperwork and try to get the thought of Sebastian out of his head.


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the day went rather well. That is until Ciel checked his schedule.

Somehow, in all his fuss over the situation with the Michaelis family, his newest servant, and getting his company back off the ground, he'd completely forgotten the fact that Elizabeth Midford's birthday was in less than a week. She would be paying him a visit for tea that day, and no doubt was expecting a nice gift. After all, he was her fiancé.

Ciel groaned and rubbed his face at the thought, not knowing the first thing to buy for her. Funtom primarily made toys, so he knew what young children liked, but not young women. Especially not young women who would one day become his wife.

Lizzie seemed to like anything cute and stereotypically girly. However, the very notion of 'cute' was subjective. For example, the first thing that came to mind when he thought of the word 'cute' was the image of Sebastian's rich brown eyes seeming to brighten and sparkle and dance whenever his face lit up with a smile. The little crinkles that formed at the outer corners, then the way his long lashes rested on his cheeks when he smiled wide enough to push his eyes shut.

Ciel lost himself for a moment as he thought of his butler before catching himself and shaking the thoughts from his head. He sighed a bit and rang the bell to call the young man up to him. He waited a few moments, smiling softly when he heard footsteps rushing up and pausing at his door. Another moment passed as Sebastian made sure his new suit was straight before lightly knocking on the door and pushing it open.

"You rang for me, master?" he asked, letting himself into the room.

"Yes. I need you to prepare a carriage for tomorrow morning after breakfast. We're going out into London." Ciel said to him easily, forcing himself to look busy and focused on his paperwork so he wouldn't get distracted by those eyes again.

"Of course, sir. May I ask why?" Sebastian replied curiously as he watched Ciel work with his head down to his papers.

"I need to get a gift for Elizabeth Midford, my fiancée. Her birthday's coming up in a few days and I've been so busy I completely forgot." Ciel explained.

Sebastian felt a pang in his chest at the word 'fiancée'. Of course, he should have seen it coming from a mile away. Most aristocrats were engaged since childhood, to keep the family money secure. Besides, it wasn't as if his romantic fantasies of his Blue-Eyed Boy would ever come true, whether Ciel was engaged or not. The whole idea was idiotic and childish.

"Sebastian? Is there something wrong?" Ciel asked, snapping his butler back to reality, his eyes going from distant and thoughtful to present and a bit shocked.

"Ah, no, not at all. I'll schedule the carriage right away, sir." Sebastian said to him with a shake of his head and a small, hasty bow before leaving the room, still obviously nervous about doing well and pleasing his new master.

Sebastian sighed softly as he left down to the kitchen to use the phone he'd used to call Nina to the manor to call the carriage to pick them up the next morning. Once everything was in order, he went through the motions of the rest of his duties for the day, making sure to check in on Nina every once in a while until she'd finished and had handed him a stack of identical suits. He thanked her and made sure she had a way out of the manor before putting the suits in the armoire in his own little bedroom. He hung them all up neatly, smoothing the fabric out and stepped back to look at them all as it finally started to sink in that that manor and that room would be his new home from then on. When he went to bed that night, he would be doing so without his parents kissing and bidding him goodnight or praying with him. If he had a nightmare, he wouldn't have his mother nearby to comfort him. Then, when he woke up, he wouldn't see his parents at the breakfast table. For the first time in his life, he was alone.

Sebastian frowned and sat down on his floor against the wall at the thought, feeling loneliness and fear start to wash over him. He couldn't think of anything but how much he missed his mother's touch and smell and how suddenly alone he felt. He pulled his knees up to his chest and held himself close as he felt tears well up in his eyes. He wanted to go home, but he knew he couldn't. He'd already committed to being Ciel's servant for the sake of his family. It was far too late to turn back and change his mind now. The only thing he could do was write letters to his parents and hope he'd be able to see them in the future.

He found himself remembering the feeling of his mother stroking his hair, hugging him, and telling him how proud they were of him. The memories pushed Sebastian's emotions over the edge and he found himself covering his face with his gloved hands and starting to weep into them.

"Mr. Sebastian? Mr. Sebastian?" Finny called as he walked through the manor, looking for the new butler. The blond stopped outside the butler's bedroom when he heard the soft sobs coming from inside. "Mr. Sebastian?" he asked softly as he let himself inside and moved to sit down on the floor next to the other man. He didn't exactly know what to do when someone was crying. However, he himself had wept quite a few times and he remembered how Bard, Mey-Rin, and Tanaka had helped him. So, he could do his best to replicate the actions.

Finny moved to wrap an arm around Sebastian's shoulders, keeping his touch light and gentle so he wouldn't accidentally shatter the other's bones and make things worse. He wrapped the other arm around his front to embrace him. "It's going to be okay, Mr. Sebastian, I promise. I know it's scary now and Master's pretty scary, too. It'll get better, though, I promise." He said softly.

Sebastian sniffled at the feeling of the arms around him and the gentle words as Finny worked to soothe him. He pulled his hands from his face and looked over at the blond boy next to him.

"There we go. You'll see your family again, don't worry. Master may be hard on you now, but he's not cruel. He won't keep you from them forever. He knows how it feels to not be able to see your parents when you really want to." Finny said gently to Sebastian, gently wiping away the tears on his cheeks with his thumbs.

"I've never been away from home like this before," Sebastian said softly, letting Finny coddle and comfort him.

"I know. It's going to be okay. It'll take a little while to get used to, but soon enough, you will. If you want, Bard and me and Mey-Rin and Tanaka and Master can be your family here."

Sebastian blinked at the offer before smiling softly to Finny. "Thank you."

Finny grinned happily at him and patted his back gently. "No problem, Mr. Sebastian! We can just sit here for a while longer, okay? Don't force yourself and bottle it all up, that's no good. We can just sit here for a while longer and then we'll get back to work."

Sebastian nodded and let Finny do all the talking as they sat together on the ground, the smaller man's arms around his skinny, bony body sweetly.

"Your new suits look really good, by the way. Now you're practically the real deal! All you need is Mr. Tanaka's pin and you're the servant in charge here." He praised happily as he admired the new black suit the butler now wore. "I like the tails on your coat. They kind of look like a bird's tail."

"Well, it is called a swallow-tail coat," Sebastian said after a bit of silence. He couldn't help but smile softly with amusement at Finny's comments.

"Oh. Well, you know, that makes a lot of sense." Finny said with a small smile back to Sebastian and a laugh at himself. "Hey, what say we get back to work now?"

Sebastian nodded, feeling much better after the time he'd spent with the young gardener. He moved to stand up and stretch his limbs out a bit before offering a hand to Finny to help him up as well. Finny grabbed it happily and got up with Sebastian before heading back to their duties together.

Sebastian went through everything he needed to through the rest of the day, feeding Ciel dinner and helping him retire to bed. He washed the younger man and helped him get into his nightclothes, letting Tanaka help him with the bathing portion.

"Sebastian?" Ciel asked as he climbed into his bed and let his new butler get him tucked in under the covers.

"Yes, master?" Sebastian asked, holding the candelabra up so he could see Ciel's face.

"You did well, today," Ciel said honestly to the other man, holding eye contact so his new butler knew he was being sincere.

Sebastian blinked at the little praise and expression of gratitude. He then broke into a happy smile to the younger man, his heart soaring in his chest. "Thank you, master. I do my best."

Ciel nodded and yawned a bit. "Goodnight, Sebastian. "

"Goodnight, my lord."

Sebastian blew out the candles and made sure his master was properly tucked in. He then silently left the room and finished with his duties, seeing the other servants to their own bedrooms. He was the last of the people in the house to bed.

He stayed up just a bit longer in order to write a letter to his parents to tell them about his first days in the manor. In his own nightshirt, he walked out to the mailbox to send out the letter the next day. He made sure all the doors were locked before finally heading to bed.

Sebastian knelt next to his bed and started to pray, praying for good fortune for his parents and to be able to get used to being away from them soon. He apologized for his sins, made the sign of the cross, and blew out his candle so he could crawl into his bed.

He fell asleep rather quickly and easily though waking up when he heard a rapping on his door before Bard let himself inside.

"Oi, Sebastian. We have company." The chef said to him, pulling the shocked butler from his bed, despite both of their states of undress. "You're new here, so I'll tell you what you need to know fast. The manor's under attack and this kind of happens a lot. Here's a pistol, fully loaded. Finny, Mey-Rin, and I will be outside trying to take them down. Your job is to make sure no one gets to the master."

Sebastian took the gun with shock, having never held something like it before. "I-I can't kill people. I don't want to murder anyone." He finally spoke up as Bard pushed him towards Ciel's bedroom.

Bard sighed a bit. The cook couldn't help but feel sorry for the young, wide-eyed Catholic boy who'd suddenly been pushed into something much more complex than serving the owner of a toy company. "I know you don't. But, as servants, our main priority is the safety of our Young Master. If that means shooting someone so they can't touch or hurt him, it just has to be done."

Sebastian frowned and looked down at the gun in his shaking hands. "If I must, then I must. For Master."

"For Master," Bard said with a nod, patting Sebastian's shoulder. "Just stay in his bedroom and keep an eye on the door and windows and pray you won't have to use that thing."

Sebastian nodded and watched Bard hurry off to go outside before he slipped inside of Ciel's room to guard the young earl as he slept. He couldn't help but wonder how the boy slept so peacefully and calmly despite everything that was about to start going on outside. He forced himself not to look out the window, knowing it was probably a picture of Hell when he started hearing gunshots going off faintly in the backyard.

"God save us." He said softly without really thinking, his legs shaking as he waited in the bedroom, completely alert and on edge, all his senses seemingly heightened.

He could hear the sounds of the fighting outside, the soft sounds of Ciel's gentle snores and little mumbles here and there as the boy slept. The room smelled nice, like roses and clean linens. The chilly January air was filtering into the room just a little bit, making his bare shins and feet even colder. He couldn't imagine actually being out in the snowy backyard without any pants on at a time like that.

Ciel stirred a bit in his bed, waking up slowly when he heard someone talking softly and pacing around at the foot of his bed. It didn't take long for him to determine the source of the voice, watching the skinny figure pace around and mumble a soft little prayer.

"Sebastian," Ciel said after a bit, smiling a bit when he saw the figure jump about a foot in the air. "Hey, it's cold. Get over here."

Sebastian moved to look over at Ciel, walking over to the side of the bed to the younger man. "Yes, master?"

"I mean get in the bed."

Sebastian blinked in shock at the words. "Master, are you serious?"

"Of course, I am," Ciel said, scooting to one side of the bed to give the butler some room under the large, plush covers.

Sebastian set the pistol on the bedside table and moved to crawl into the bed, feeling his cheeks burning. He was glad the room was rather dark so Ciel wouldn't see.

The butler crawled into the bed, letting Ciel pull the fluffy comforter and soft, silky sheets up over the two of them.

"There, isn't that a lot better?" Ciel asked, watching the man next to him settle into the soft mattress and pillows.

"Yes, it is. Thank you, master." Sebastian replied with a nod to the younger man.

"It's not a problem. Good night, Sebastian." Ciel replied easily before he let himself fall asleep while his butler protected him from his side in the bed.

Sebastian kept himself awake until Bard came in and whispered to him that everything was done and taken care of. He moved to leave the bed but found it rather hard when an arm wrapped around him from behind.

"No…" Ciel said softly, seemingly in his sleep, his breath hot on the back of Sebastian's neck.

Sebastian shivered at the feeling of Ciel breathing on his neck and holding him from behind. Soon enough, he felt his master curling up around him from behind, pressing into him just a bit.

He frowned, remembering the way all the men in the brothel would hold him around the abdomen like Ciel's arm was as they pressed into him from behind, curling around him. He suddenly felt conflicted. He wanted to leave, to get those terrible, sinful memories out of his head. He wanted to forget the pain of being taken, often roughly, the feeling of tears running down his face, then hot semen on his thighs a bit later. He wanted to forget the humiliation of selling himself for the sake of his family.

However, Sebastian also wanted to stay there with Ciel. He wanted to snuggle into the younger man in return. When he woke up, he wanted to feel Ciel's lips pressing soft, sweet kisses all over his face until his eyes fluttered open. He wanted Ciel to push his inky locks from his face and, smiling at him, wish him a good morning before both of them got started with their days.

In the end, the bad memories defeated his dreams of making happier ones and he wiggled out of Ciel's arms, making sure he didn't wake him up again. He took the gun, convinced himself that Ciel wouldn't miss him when the other woke up in the morning and returned to the servants' wing. He slipped into Bard, Finny, and Tanaka's room to return the gun, then returned to his own bed.

He tried his best to get a bit more sleep, finally passing out from exhaustion for a few hours until his clock's alarm went off and woke him up early in the morning.

Sebastian splashed cold water on his face to wake himself up, quickly took a cold bath to get clean and wake up further, got dressed, and got started with his duties.


	7. Chapter 7

The morning went almost identically to the previous morning. Sebastian made sure to stick to the routine he'd carved out as well as he could, remembering how everything was done, in which order, and which time they were completed by. He only allowed himself so much time to eat his own breakfast before he worried about Ciel's. He made sure everything was perfect before he went up to wake Ciel from his slumber by gently shaking his smaller shoulder.

"Master? Master, it's time to wake up. We have a rather eventful day ahead of us." Sebastian said gently to the younger man until Ciel finally opened his big blue eyes to look up at him groggily. He didn't think he would ever tire of seeing those eyes gazing up at him.

"What kind of tea did you bring for me today?" Ciel asked as he moved to sit up in the bed while Sebastian got the tea ready and handed him a cup of the liquid.

"Today's is earl grey, sir." Sebastian replied, handing Ciel the cup and moving to get his clothes ready for the day.

Ciel just hummed in reply before sipping his tea, watching the young butler put an outfit together thoughtfully. Sebastian seemed a lot more confident and sure of himself and what he was doing now. The younger man truly was a quick study.

Sebastian's face still flushed a bit, his hands moving carefully as he undressed and re-dressed Ciel, doing his best to keep his mind focused on the task at hand. "Master, may I ask what you have in mind to get your betrothed?" he asked curiously after a bit of silence.

"I was thinking getting her a pair of shoes and a matching purse. She likes things like that, I think." Ciel replied as Sebastian tied the ribbon around his neck into a bow that sat on the side of his neck. "Maybe a parasol or something, too."

Sebastian just nodded. He personally didn't have too much experience in the realm of women's fashion trends. He just remembered seeing the nice pretty dresses and purses the women would bring to Mass or into the bakery. Every so often, he would catch his mother ogling something like a silk handbag or a nice hat in the windows of a shop, however she would always deny it when he asked her about it. He couldn't help but smile softly at the idea that he would one day be able to see her, perhaps on Easter, and happily give her one of the nice purses she'd always wanted. If he worked hard and pleased his master, he might be able to give her a nice dress made of silk to go with the purse that coming Christmas.

Ciel hopped off of the bed once Sebastian finished getting him ready and started to comb through his hair and tame his bedhead. He walked over to his mirror to look himself over, making sure to check over each angle.

"It looks good." He decided before moving to leave the room with his butler following dutifully behind him.

Sebastian got Ciel seated at the table, getting him settled with his breakfast quickly so he wouldn't keep the younger man waiting. While Ciel ate, he moved to the phone to call the coach so it would be there when Ciel finished eating his breakfast.

When Ciel had finished, Sebastian took his dishes and let Bard take care of washing them. He then moved back to Ciel to help the young earl don his cloak to keep himself warm in the winter weather. He made sure he had his walking stick and top hat before pulling on his own coat to keep himself warm as well. With that, they walked out to the carriage together, both of them climbing inside. He knocked on the top of the coach, sitting across from Ciel as they rode away to head into London together.

Sebastian watched out his window as they rode into the city together silently. He watched the people all walking around in the streets and passing by until they came to a stop in front of the shop Ciel had directed the driver to go to. He slipped out of the coach, letting Ciel take his hand to help him down from the coach so they could go into the shop together.

As he walked to the door and held it open for Ciel, Sebastian saw a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye, looking over and smiling when he made eye contact with his mother. He waved to her, wanting to go over and talk with her and hug her.

"Sebastian, are you coming in or not?" Ciel asked impatiently as his butler seemed to have checked out for a minute.

"Ah, yes. Sorry, sir." Sebastian replied to Ciel before hurrying into the shop, quickly going back to shadowing his young master while the other looked around the shop for something that might please his fiancée. The shop wasn't too crowded, with a couple other women in there as well, two of them with their husbands.

Ciel looked over the purses and shoes thoughtfully, not paying much attention to his butler. He didn't notice the soft gasp of recognition Sebastian gave before stiffening up a bit. He didn't notice when the man who'd come to look at the purses and shoes next to them silently start groping at his butler's backside.

Sebastian, however, noticed whether he wanted to or not. He moved away from Ciel a bit before turning to confront the familiar man, recognizing him as one of his former clients.

"Didn't think I'd see your face in here. Small city, ain't it?" The man said with a small smile to the young man. "You've cleaned up. Is that shrimp your with your newest client?"

"What? No, he's my master. Please, leave me alone." Sebastian replied with a frown, wanting to just return to Ciel's side and try to forget his sins that he'd committed for the sake of his family.

"'Your master'? Whatever you want to call it, kid. So, what? Shrimp gives you pretty clothes and a pretty haircut and in return you call him 'master' even outside the bedroom?" The man asked with a small laugh.

"I'm not his whore. I'm his butler." Sebastian insisted stubbornly.

"Hey, call it whatever you want. But, just because you're wearing nice clothes and your hair's all shiny doesn't mean you'll ever stop being a little whore. You can take the whore from the brothel, but you'll never take the brothel from the whore. I'll take your word for it and say that you're just doing little butler jobs for this Shrimp. But, in the end, you'll never stop being a whore. The day you join dear 'master' in his bed, you'll know what he's really paying you for."

Sebastian fell silent at the words, feeling he ought to retort somehow, but no words came to mind. He turned to look back at Ciel, though that didn't last too long because the man took a hold of his chin when no one was looking, forcing their mouths together and pushing his tongue into his mouth. The man pulled their bodies close together as the man ground his hips into his.

Sebastian squirmed a bit before finally pushing the man away with both hands. He quickly got away from the man, sidling back over to Ciel in the main area of the shop.

"Oh, I was looking for you. Don't wander off like that." The young earl said, a pair of pink shoes, a pink purse, and a pink parasol in his arms. He followed Sebastian's short gaze over to the man walking back over to his wife. "Someone you know?" he asked, leading his butler over to pay for the gifts.

"No, sir. He's nobody." Sebastian lied, figuring one white lie was better than coming clean about his far more sinful past.

Ciel looked up at Sebastian, cocking an eyebrow at him. He said nothing and instead moved to pay for the gifts with ease, letting Sebastian take them again when they were all packaged for them to go. He lead his butler out of the shop easily.

"Is there anything else we need in the kitchen while we're out here?" Ciel asked the taller man.

"No, sir, I think we'll be alright for a while longer." Sebastian replied honestly, walking with Ciel.

"Wonderful. I would suggest making a brief visit to the bakery for cake, but I hardly need that when I have you now. I suppose we'll just head home, then."

Sebastian blinked at the words before smiling and nodding. He decided to take it as a veiled compliment about his skills in the kitchen. He followed Ciel back to their coach, letting the driver know to take them both back to the manor before following Ciel into the coach and sitting across from him once again, the gifts rested on his lap as they rode off together.

Ciel watched out the window contently, his mind wandering until finally resting for a bit on Sebastian. He knew his butler had lied to him, and for that, he would have to be punished somehow. However, it was a small lie and didn't matter much. Besides, his butler was very new to the job and the new lifestyle, so he couldn't be expected to be absolutely perfect right away. He simply needed to learn that lying to his master was absolutely unacceptable. The hardest part would be finding a punishment suitable. He glanced over at his young butler with a small frown. He couldn't help but wonder what was going through his butler's head. If Sebastian was homesick, he did a good job at keeping it hidden. He was sure the other man probably was, since it was his first time truly being away from his family and he had to get used to living alone so suddenly.

Ciel couldn't help but wonder why Sebastian would lie about whether or not he knew the other man in the shop. It seemed like an odd thing to lie about and it made him wonder what things his butler had gone through before finding his place in his manor.

They arrived at the manor a few minutes later and he let Sebastian take his hands and help him down from the coach. He walked into the house along with Sebastian, letting him deal with his walking stick, top hat, and cloak.

"Sebastian, stay here a moment, will you?" Ciel asked him once they were all ready to go.

"Very well, sir. Is there something you need of me?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, actually, I want to talk with you in private. Will you come with me to my office?" Ciel asked.

"Yes, sir." Sebastian replied, following Ciel up to his bedroom with the gifts in his arms. He set them aside once they were inside, letting Ciel close the door behind the two of them.

"What did you want to talk about, sir?" Sebastian asked curiously.

"That man back at the shop. You know him somehow. You're not that great of a liar, Sebastian, and a butler lying to his master is absolutely inexcusable." Ciel replied, looking up at Sebastian and holding eye contact with him.

"I'm sorry, master. It won't happen again." Sebastian replied, bowing his head to the younger man respectfully.

"I don't doubt it. It's up to you whether or not you want to explain to me why you lied, that's your business. However, I can't just let you off without a punishment, do you understand?"

"Yes, master. You need to discipline me and make me better, is that right?"

"Exactly. I'm not doing this because I hate you, and I'm not mad at you. I want you to become the best butler you can be, but you need discipline for that. So, I'm going to sit here on my bed, I want you to pull your pants down, not your underwear and kneel over my lap. I will strike you ten times, no more and no less."

Sebastian flushed and nodded, unbuckling his belt and letting his black pants fall off his hips and down to the ground as Ciel sat down on the bed. He obediently stepped out of his pants and knelt on the floor, bending himself over Ciel's lap, staring down at the floor as he braced himself. The first strike came with a sting and Sebastian closed his eyes, counting each slap silently, the hand hitting the same spot over and over again, making the sting grow and grow until tears of pain and humiliation pricked at his eyes. Ciel finished at ten, as promised, and moved to gently rub Sebastian's back, letting him up.

"Do you want to talk to me about why you lied?" Ciel asked curiously, patting the area of the bed next to him to let Sebastian sit next to him.

Sebastian nodded and sniffled a bit, pulling his pants back on purely for modesty before he sat down next to his master.

"That man at the shop, I did know him. I've met him once before, but I wish I never had. When you raised the rate of my family's payments to you, we all worked as hard as we could to get the money, but I knew I would have to make a sacrifice or two to try and help get more money for my parents. They would always be so stressed and anxious about it, and I didn't want them to be. So, for about a week or so, I started sneaking out to a nearby brothel and selling myself. I would leave when they fell asleep and return home before they woke up. I lost a lot of sleep, and my body was always in pain, and I'm sure God hates me now, and we still didn't make your quota, hence why I'm here. I'm sorry, master, but I'm afraid you've hired a filthy whore to serve you." Sebastian said, the tears starting to roll down his cheeks.

Ciel listened to Sebastian and wrapped an arm around the other's shoulders, holding his butler close and just letting the young man cry against him. "You're not a filthy whore, Sebastian. If anything, you're extremely brave and noble. To abandon your beliefs and sacrifice yourself for your parents, it's completely admirable. You've been through a lot and you've dealt with it in whatever way you could. I'm lucky to have such brave man serving as my butler and primary protector."

Sebastian kept silent and leaned into Ciel, moving to embrace him in return, the other man's words making feel happy and warm inside. "Thank you, my lord. Thank you so, so much."

"It's no problem. We'll just keep this between the two of us and move on, how does that sound?"

Sebastian nodded in agreement. "That sounds good, master."

"Wonderful. We need to focus on getting things ready for Elizabeth when she comes to visit on her birthday in a couple days."

"Master, may I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Do you love Miss Elizabeth?"

"Well, she's my cousin, and we spent a lot of time together in childhood. She's like a close friend. I guess I love her in that sense, yes."

"What about as a future wife, if it's not too bold to ask?"

"I don't know about that one yet, really. I don't know if I could ever fall in love with her romantically."

Sebastian nodded in understanding. "What will you do, then?"

"I'll marry her anyway. It was Mother and Father's dying wish for me, so I'll just have to marry her and deal with it. We're expected to marry in a few years, anyways. It's too late to back out now."

Sebastian nodded, keeping close to Ciel contently. "I'm sure it will be alright. Just so long as you two get along well enough."

"We'll have to have an heir, though, that's what I'm most worried about." Ciel said honestly to his butler, trusting the other man not to let anything that was said in that room leave it.

"Are you afraid of being a father?" Sebastian asked curiously.

"No, not really. I just don't want to go to bed with her. She's pretty and all, but there's something about her that I just don't find attractive sexually."

"I see. I think a lot of couples have that problem, sadly. They go to bed with each other and have children together, but they're always thinking of someone else in the bedroom."

Ciel nodded in agreement as he kept close to Sebastian, moving to let the other man go, letting Sebastian shuffle away from him a bit.

"You have a few years before you need to deal with that, though. That's plenty of time, I think." Sebastian continued easily.

"Yeah, it is." Ciel replied, looking over at his butler and the small smile that spread across the other man's lips when they made eye contact. "Okay, we've killed enough time with our heart-to-heart. I have paperwork and you have lunch you should be starting on."

Sebastian nodded and got up from the bed along with Ciel. "You're right. We're rather off schedule."

"We are. Speaking of lunch, have you been eating well? I don't want to see your ribs poking out for much longer. What will your parents think of me when I invite them over to visit you in a week or so, and they see you're still as malnourished as you used to be?" Ciel asked, looking up at Sebastian as the younger man paused, registered what he'd said, and looked down at Ciel with a wide grin.

"Are you serious, master?" He asked, the idea of being able to see and speak with his parents, if even for a little bit once again making him happy.

"Of course I am. I'm not so sadistic that I'd joke about something like that." Ciel replied with a nod.

"Thank you, master. And, to answer the question, I don't think they'd be very happy with you at all."

"I think you're right. I'd rather not take that risk. Come on, we're stalling now. Go get back to work."

"Of course. Thank you, master, so much." Sebastian replied, bowing to Ciel politely before obediently parting ways with him to go back to his regular duties.


	8. Chapter 8

Sebastian was by no means excited to meet Elizabeth Midford. He didn't want to meet the young woman who would forever stand between him and Ciel, holding his hand, smiling with him, kissing him, and doing all the things he'd dreamt of doing with the young boy he'd met in the bakery. He didn't want to like her, or get to know her, or have anything to do with her. He definitely didn't want to be the one wrapping her gifts from Ciel or preparing her guest room, just in case she decided to stay the night. Most of all, though, he didn't want to have to smile at her and be kind to her and serve her like he served Ciel.

All that didn't stop her from arriving, though. Sebastian opened the door when he heard the knock on the door, looking down to see the face of a girl who couldn't be any younger than himself of Ciel. She had her blonde hair tied up on the sides of her head in curly pigtails and she held a small box wrapped delicately with a ribbon in her gloved hands.

"You must be Sebastian, Ciel's new butler. It's nice to finally meet you." She said with a happy grin to him.

"You as well, Miss Elizabeth." Sebastian replied to the young woman, stepping aside to let her inside the manor so he could take her coat from her and hang it up. He blinked in shock when he turned around to see her holding the box out to him, looking up at him with her big green eyes.

"It's for you. A gift to welcome you to the family." She said with a happy grin.

Sebastian hated the way the young woman smiled at him and held the pretty little box out to him. She'd only just met him and was already considering him a member of the family and welcoming him in so unconditionally with a gift.

"My lady, you didn't have to." Sebastian said to her with a wave of his hands.

"Please, I insist. I want us to be good friends from here on out." She said happily, pushing the gift into his hands.

Sebastian took the gift from her hesitantly. "Well, I suppose I cannot very well deny a guest of my master's."

Elizabeth grinned at him happily. "I hope not. You can go ahead and open it up here."

Sebastian nodded and carefully untied the ribbon, as if the box itself was made of glass. He set the ribbon aside on the table and carefully lifted the lid of the box to reveal another, smaller box inside. He took it out and lifted open the lid to find a shiny silver pocket watch nestled nicely inside.

"I figured a proper butler ought to have a proper pocket watch to keep him on schedule. Ciel tells me how hard you work to stay on schedule. This might make your life a bit easier." Elizabeth said to him happily.

"Thank you, this was very kind. I'll take good care of it." Sebastian said to her with a small smile in return, fastening the pocket watch to his clothes and slipping it inside the pocket of his pants.

"I'm Elizabeth, by the way. Elizabeth Midford." She said, sticking a hand out to him.

"Yes, I've heard quite a bit about you. All good things, I promise." Sebastian replied with a small smile, taking her hand. "I'm Sebastian Michaelis, though you can just call me Sebastian."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Sebastian." She said with a happy grin to him.

"You as well, Lady Elizabeth. I'll alert my master that you've arrived." Sebastian said with a small bow to her.

"No need. I already know." Ciel replied from his spot on the stairs where he'd been watching the pair meet and get acquainted.

"My lord, how long have you been there?" Sebastian asked with a small frown.

"Not too long, don't worry about it." Ciel replied, sliding past his butler to go over to Elizabeth and gently take her hand, kissing her knuckles. Elizabeth smiled at the gesture.

"Lizzy, allow me to formally introduce my new butler, Sebastian Michaelis. Sebastian, this is my fiancée, Elizabeth Midford." Ciel said to the pair.

"It's a pleasure." She said with a happy smile, sticking her hand out to the taller man.

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Elizabeth." Sebastian replied, gently taking her hand and shaking it. "If you'll both excuse me, it's time for tea."

Ciel nodded. "Serve it to us in the drawing room. Oh, and bring her birthday gifts as well." He replied, shooing the young man away.

"So, where did you find him?" Elizabeth asked curiously as she walked with Ciel off to the drawing room, holding onto her fiancé's arm as they walked.

"His family was in debt to me and impoverished. So, I cut their debt quota to a third of what it was if he agreed to work for me." Ciel explained.

"He's so skinny, like he's only eating for the first time now. You're so charitable, Ciel." She hummed to him happily as she took a seat in one of the chairs in the room as Ciel sat in the chair next to hers. "How old is he, anyways?"

"He's seventeen, just around our age." Ciel replied as he got comfortable with his legs crossed. "He's very young, and he's still got a long way to go to get the caliber I want him at, but at least he knows his way around a kitchen. The sweets he makes are some of the best I've ever had in my life."

"Well, I guess that just shows where your priorities lie." Elizabeth said with a wide grin, starting to giggle at the look Ciel gave her in return.

Sebastian let himself in the room with a cart that held the tea, food, and birthday gifts in their boxes a few minutes later. He handed the gifts to Elizabeth first before starting to pour the cups of tea for the couple.

"Thank you, Sebastian. Those little cakes look divine." Elizabeth complimented, watching the man focus so completely on doing everything as perfectly as he could.

"I hope they taste just as good as they look, Miss Elizabeth." Sebastian replied as he served the food to Ciel.

"If Ciel was telling the truth, I'm sure they will." She replied with a happy smile as she sipped her tea before setting the cup aside so she could open the boxes that had been tied shut with ribbon.

Elizabeth smiled as she opened up the boxes, one by one, grinning with delight at the parasol, shoes, and purse. "These are so lovely. They'll look adorable with plenty of my dresses. Thank you, Ciel." She hummed, moving from her seat to hug her fiancé thankfully.

"If there's nothing else you need me for, I think I'll leave you two alone." Sebastian said, shifting a bit awkwardly at the display of affection.

Ciel nodded and let the young man slip out of the room to go back to his duties.

Sebastian sighed once the door was shut behind him. He looked down at the shiny silver pocket watch, turning the thing over in his hand. The front was embossed with the Phantomhive family's seal and he could only assume it was pure silver. It was one of the prettiest, nicest things he'd ever owned and he could only guess how much such a thing would cost. The fact that such a gift would be given to a servant astounded him.

He was thrown out of his trance by the sound of a knock on the door. He quickly pocketed the watch once again and went over to the front door, opening it slowly to peer outside at the mail carrier waiting on the front step.

"How may I help you?" Sebastian asked the man.

"A letter for Earl Phantomhive." The mail carrier replied shortly, pushing the envelope into his hand.

"Thank you. I'll see to it that he gets it right away." Sebastian replied. The mail carrier just nodded and hurried away.

Sebastian watched him leave before shutting the door once again and looking down at the envelope in his hand. The paper seemed rather thick and heavy and expensive. The address looked like it had been written by a master calligrapher and the envelope was sealed with a neat circle of molded wax. He stared at the letter absently, wondering if it was from someone important or if getting fancy letters was just a perk of being born into nobility.

He stopped at the door of the drawing room, knocking gently on the door.

"I've been going soft on him the past couple days, but that's just to let him settle in a bit. It's been rougher than we'd thought. I think tomorrow I'm going to start pushing him again." Ciel explained to Lizzy as they sipped their tea, the young woman wondering how Ciel was planning to mold a butler not much older than either of them into the most perfect butler in all of Great Britain.

He looked up when he heard the knock from the door. "Come in." He called, setting the cup down as Sebastian let himself inside.

"A letter just came for you, sir." Sebastian said, bringing the envelope over to Ciel where he sat.

"Next time, just bring it up to my office. They're usually not important enough to bother with interrupting my fiancée and I. " Ciel said as he took the envelope, looking it over. "Actually, never mind. When the envelopes look like this and have that seal, bring them to me immediately. Otherwise, they can wait."

"Yes, sir. May I ask who it's from?" Sebastian replied, watching Ciel open up the envelope and slide the papers out from inside.

"The Queen."

"The Queen? Queen Victoria?"

"What other queen is there? Now, hush and let me read this."

Sebastian snapped his mouth shut despite all the questions swirling around in his mind. He watched Ciel's large blue eyes scan over the paper, reading each and every word on the page. He glanced over at Elizabeth, but she seemed unfazed by the fact that Ciel had gotten a letter from the Queen herself, the blonde girl just contently sipping her tea and eating a cake, humming happily at the taste.

"Sebastian, these cakes are lovely. I wish I could eat them all day long without having to worry about a stomach ache." Elizabeth hummed to him happily.

"I'm glad you like them, Lady Elizabeth. I'll be sure to make them again for you." Sebastian replied with a small smile to her happily.

"It looks like we have something to do now." Ciel said, folding the paper up and setting it aside so he could sip his tea.

"What is it this time?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"There've been reports of terribly bloody and grisly murders as well as quite a few churches out in the countryside mysteriously catching fire and burning to the ground." Ciel replied casually.

"Why is the Queen telling all this to you? Isn't that something the Scotland Yard should be looking into? Why does she turn to a teenage boy instead?" Sebastian spoke up, clamping his mouth shut when the pair looked up at him. All of a sudden, he remembered how much lower his place was compared to the two people in front of him. A servant speaking out so boldly was generally frowned upon quite a bit.

"I haven't told you that yet, have I? For generations, the Earl Phantomhive has served as the Queen's Watchdog. She came to me because this something that she wants to remain within the underground and away from polite society. The people need to believe that England is safe; it's my job to make sure the keep believing that. The Scotland Yard can stick to their little investigations. If I need them, I'll make use of them. Otherwise, I'll deal with this problem myself." Ciel explained with a small smirk playing on his lips as he looked up into his butler's brown eyes.

"That sounds extremely dangerous, though, sir." Sebastian replied after a bit of thought. He felt his heart drop when Ciel's smile widened.

"Oh, it definitely is. That's why I don't ever go alone. After all, my butler is meant to follow me like a shadow and make sure I stay safe."

Sebastian blinked at the reply, not to sure how to take the revelation. "Sir, I have no experience with detective work." He finally said softly, starting to wonder what he'd gotten himself into.

"I know you don't. But you need to get experience somehow, because these assignments come quite often. All you have to worry about doing is following my every order. Do you understand?"

Sebastian swallowed at that, quickly understanding that the tasks Ciel would have him perform would more than likely involve things he'd never dreamed of doing, things he'd never be able to tell his parents about, things he'd have to beg God for forgiveness later. "Yes, my lord. I understand. I will do anything you order me to."

Ciel smiled at the answer, glancing over at Elizabeth. Perhaps Sebastian didn't have all the experience in the world, but the man's discipline was increasing quite a bit. Soon enough, he would have a butler he could proudly present to other noblemen with the knowledge of how much they would envy him and his perfect servant. "Wonderful. Why don't we start with some more tea?"


	9. Chapter 9

If there was one thing that could be said about Ciel Phantomhive, it was that he was a man of his word. The Earl made absolutely sure to keep his new butler constantly busy, whether it was helping with the investigation or if it was doing menial tasks around the house. He had every intention of pushing the man as far as he possibly could to see just how patient he would be. When the man tried to bathe him, he would splash him with water if he didn't move fast enough. Ciel yelled and rang for Sebastian at least five times per night with small complaints like 'My pillow's not fluffy enough' or 'Now it's too fluffy, you idiot' or even 'I think there's a beast in my armoire' even though the armoire was in the dressing room, which was separated from the main bedroom by a solid oak door. His favorite thing to do was call Sebastian in just past midnight, then question why he was in his night clothes rather than his uniform.

"What if we're attacked? Do you expect to keep your dignity while defending me in a shirt that barely reaches your knees?" He would ask with a smirk on his lips while the man helped tuck him into his large bed and make sure everything was perfect for his master.

"I can defend you no matter how much skin I show, master. Now, please, go to sleep." Sebastian would always reply.

"You don't tell me what to do."

"Good night, my lord."

With that, Sebastian would blow out the candles and return to his own bedroom to get as much more sleep as he could before he started on his morning routine before the sun had a chance to rise.

"Master, I've compiled a summary of the things The Undertaker told me." Sebastian said to Ciel one day while the younger man was sipping his afternoon tea.

"How did you make him talk? He always makes it so difficult." Ciel asked curiously, looking up at his butler, who had returned to the manor successful and a bit disheveled.

"I had to make him laugh. Naturally, I told him about you, master." Sebastian replied honestly, cracking a small smile to Ciel.

"Just tell me what he said."

"Yes, sir. The corpses he's looked over so far all seem to have been mauled by something with claws. The throats have all been torn out, as well as quite a few organs. Bite marks are evident on each one of the bodies; though where they're placed is rather inconsistent, save for the fact that they all pierce a major vein or artery. The attacker or attackers didn't seem to mind who they attacked, as the victims consist of men, women, and children. The victims all seem to have been members of the churches that were burned down. Only a few people saw the attackers and survived, though none of them can describe the attackers or what they saw. The only things they can seem to say are 'Hell' and 'monster'. Most of these survivors seem to be in shock or highly mentally disturbed since the time they spotted the attackers."

Ciel stayed silent as Sebastian read over the summary he'd written up before letting the butler hand the summary over to him as well as a diagram the Undertaker had drawn up to illustrate what the bodies tended to look like. He frowned as he looked and mulled over everything.

"Sebastian, you're rather painfully Catholic, aren't you?" Ciel asked after a bit, looking up at the other man.

"I was raised Catholic by rather devout parents, yes." Sebastian replied with a small frown.

"How much do you know about demons and angels and the like?"

"Not too much, admittedly. I know that angels are God's soldiers and that demons are descended from the angels who fell from Heaven with Lucifer. I know Lucifer fell because he didn't want to hold humans to the same standard as God himself and didn't want to love them like he loved God. That's all I really know, though. Why do you ask, master?"

Ciel listened and nodded before gesturing for his butler to take a seat in a chair near the desk. "It's true that demons and fallen angels hold no love for humans whatsoever. The thing with both demons and angels, though, is that the human mind generally does not have the capacity to fully comprehend what they look like. Therefore, the sight of one in their most natural form would easily frighten the viewer. That's why, in the Bible, they always say 'do not be afraid' when they appear to someone. I'm telling you all of this because I think the attacker or attackers might be a demon or two. It probably isn't too many, since one demon can wreak quite a lot of havoc on it's own."

"If they're demons, how will we get rid of them? Can a human kill a demon?" Sebastian asked with a small frown.

"Humans are much too weak to really kill one. The only thing a human can really do is send them back to Hell. That's what I need you for."

"Master, I'm not a priest or a Father at all. I don't know how."

"Well, I suppose you're just going to have to peruse the library and learn how, then."

Sebastian sighed a bit at that, already having quite a bit on his plate since he had to finish preparations for his parents' visit the next day. "How long do I have to learn it, sir?"

"I'll give you three days after tomorrow. The longer we wait, the more damage will be done." Ciel replied as he finished off his tea. "On the third day we'll head out and try to track them down."

"Yes, sir. Is there anything more you need me for?" Sebastian replied, wondering how on earth he was supposed to learn how to send a demon back to Hell in a span of three days, as well as figure out a way to completely impress his parents and show them what a great servant he was and make them proud.

"No, that'll be all for now. You can go back to your work."

Sebastian nodded and stood up before leaving the room, returning to preparing the guest room for his parents, making sure everything was ready and perfect for them. Despite the fact that his parents were visiting, he'd only been relieved of half of his duties for the day, which meant he would still have to tend to the meals and to his master, but the other tasks around the manor would be entrusted to the other servants.

He finished that day as he usually did, letting the other servants head to bed before he did. He made sure everything was ready for the next day before donning his own nightshirt and locking up the manor. He made sure the stray cats had enough food for the night and made sure to kiss each of them on the head and bid them goodnight before finally retiring.

He knelt before his bed and said his nightly prayer, this time around praying that his parents would be proud of him and that he and Ciel would be able to stop the demons from creating much more carnage and send them back from whence they'd come. With that, he made the sign of the cross and crawled into his bed for the night.

After an hour or two of sleep, he woke up to the bell over his bed ringing furiously.

"He's my adorable little master. He's my adorable little master. He's my adorable little master." He mumbled to himself to help extend his patience as he made his way up to the Earl's bedroom and let himself inside. "What do you need, master?"

"I can't sleep. Can you get me some warm milk?" Ciel asked as he sat up in his bed.

"Very well, sir. It might be a few minutes, though." Sebastian replied dutifully to Ciel, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"That's fine. I'll come with you." Ciel replied as he slid out of his bed to pad over to his butler.

Sebastian just nodded and gently rested a hand on the back of Ciel's shoulder to guide his sleepy master down the stairs to the kitchen. He had to admit, while he wasn't happy about being routinely woken up from his sleep, Ciel was absolutely adorable when he was sleepy. His big eyes were half closed and he had a habit of grabbing onto his nightshirt and clinging close to him no matter what. He had to restrain himself from reaching down to gently poke the other teenager's cheeks to see if they were as soft as they looked.

He lead Ciel down into the kitchen and let the young earl cling to his clothes and follow him around as he got the milk and started to heat it up.

"Sebastian?" Ciel asked curiously as they waited for the milk to get warm enough.

"Yes, my lord?" Sebastian replied, getting a mug out for the milk.

"Can you put honey in it?" Ciel asked tiredly as he moved to bury his face into his skinny butler's shoulder. He was still rather bony and underweight, so it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. But, he was still warm and better than nothing.

"I don't see why not, sir." Sebastian replied, resting a hand on the back of Ciel's head to absently start playing with his silky hair.

"Tanaka says having too much honey in my milk is bad for me."

"Well, it'll be our little secret, then, and it won't happen too often from now on."

Ciel nodded and buried his face into his butler's shoulder. He would blame it on drowsiness later, but he couldn't help but notice the nice smell his butler gave off. The man smelled like chocolate and fresh, air-dried linens. For whatever reason, the first thing his mind jumped to when he tried to mentally describe the scent was 'home'.

Sebastian just worked and relaxed next to Ciel, putting the milk in the mug and mixing in a bit of honey when it was ready. "Here you are, my lord."

Ciel peeled away from Sebastian to take hold of the mug, though still kept rather close to the warmth of his butler.

"Your parents are coming tomorrow morning." He commented before yawning between sips of his milk.

"Yes, sir, they are." Sebastian replied with a small smile as he watched his sleepy master. He couldn't help but imagine his master as a little kitten that was verging on just falling asleep in it's bowl of food.

"Are you excited?"

"Yes, sir. I'm praying that they'll be proud of me."

"I think they will. I think they'll be real proud."

Sebastian blinked and smiled warmly at that, resisting every urge to lean down and kiss his earl's forehead in gratitude for the comment. "Thank you, sir. I'll make sure they know how good you are to me."

Ciel leaned into Sebastian as he sipped his milk. "Thank you, Sebastian. You're not that terrible of a butler. You still have a lot to figure out, but you're pretty good."

Sebastian smiled at that and just relaxed as Ciel finished his milk and handed him the mug back. He set it beside the sink to be washed later and walked Ciel back up to his bedroom for the night, tucking him back into his bed.

"Is everything to your liking, sir?" He asked, gently brushing some hair out of Ciel's face.

"Yes, it's all fine." Ciel replied tiredly, looking up at his butler, taking one last discreet whiff of him when the man leaned over him to get him snug in his bed.

"Wonderful. Good night, master." Sebastian replied with a small smile.

"Good night, Sebastian." Ciel replied to the other man, watching as he walked over to the candle on the bedside table.

Sebastian took the candle with him to return back to his bedchambers for the rest of the night. He was able to sleep all through the night for the first time in a while without Ciel waking him up with some complaint or another.

As per usual, he woke up before the sun rose. He took a cold bath to help wake himself up, washing his hair and body thoroughly before he got out to get dressed in his uniform for the day. When everything was ready, he woke the other servants up for the day and went to start working on breakfast for all of them. He brewed their morning tea while making an omelet and toasted bread with butter for each of them, setting the little servants' table in the kitchen neatly.

Bard was the first one to come lumbering into the room, followed closely by Finny, Mey-Rin, Tanaka strolling in leisurely a bit behind them all.

"What's on the menu this morning, Sebastian?" Bard asked tired as he looked over at the young butler pouring out the cups of black tea.

"Cheese and mushroom omelets, toasted bread and butter, and Earl Grey tea. Matcha for Mr. Tanaka." Sebastian replied, looking up at the other workers as they all got seated to eat together.

"It smells so good, Mr. Sebastian." Finny said with a yawn. "We're gonna meet your parents, too, right?"

"Yes, I was planning to give them a tour around and introduce them to you all. Which is why you all need to behave. I'm looking at you, Baldroy." Sebastian replied as he sat down, making sure not to sit on the tails of his coat.

"What? Why me?" Bard asked with a small frown, earning him a pointed look from the butler.

"Because, I know how much you would rather fool around than work. I'm sure that entails trying something you know you shouldn't around my parents." Sebastian replied with a small frown as they all started to eat their breakfast. "This goes for all of you. Please, be on your best behavior around them. They're more devout than any of us, so do your best not to offend them. They might be my parents and they might not be the kind of guest we usually get, but you'll treat them as if they're just as high-born as Queen Victoria herself. Except for you, Mr. Tanaka. I trust you not to do anything you shouldn't."

"I'll be really good, Mr. Sebastian! We'll be good friends by the time the sun sets!" Finny piped up with food in his mouth.

"Cover your mouth when you talk, Finnian. Better yet, swallow your food before talking." Sebastian replied between bites.

"I-I'm sure your parents are lovely, Mr. Sebastian." Mey-Rin said, biting her tongue to keep herself from mentioning how he'd have to get his looks from somebody.

"I am, too." Sebastian replied easily, completely oblivious to the way the woman adored him.

He stayed relatively quiet for the rest of the meal, giving each servant their task before getting to work on the morning tea to serve Ciel before his parents arrived for breakfast. He got Ciel ready for the day and made sure everything was absolutely perfect until he heard a knock on the door.

Ciel watched with a small smile as his butler practically sprinted down the stairs, took a moment to make sure his tie and suit were straight and his hair was as neat as it could get. He could practically sense the nerves radiating off the young man as he walked down the stairs to stand off to the side as Sebastian finally unlocked and opened the door.

Sebastian opened the door to his parents, smiling widely at the sight of his mother and father. It had only been less than a month, but he could already see how much better they looked. The stress of having to meet a high quota showed on their faces, as well the effect of being able to start feeding and washing themselves properly.

"Mama, Papa. Come in." Sebastian said, stepping aside to let his parents inside the manor. "I'll take your coats for you."

"First, let me get a good look at you." His mother replied, reaching up to cup her son's cheeks and look him over. "Oh, my sweet baby boy. You look really good. That's a good haircut for you."

"Not to mention the suit. You finally have pants to fit those long legs of yours." His father said with a small smile to his son, gently patting his back.

"Thank you. They were tailored for me." Sebastian replied with a happy smile to them as he took their old cloaks from them and moved to hang them up neatly in the coat closet.

"Mama, Papa, I'll take your bags and show you to your guest room." Sebastian said when he returned over to his parents, holding out his hands to them.

"You don't have to do that, baby." His mother replied with a small laugh.

"You are my parents, but you are also our guests. I must show Phantomhive hospitality."

"Come on, honey. Let him show us Phantomhive hospitality." His father said with a happy smile to his wife before passing his small bag to their son. His mother smiled and did the same.

"If you will follow me, I'll show you to your room and let you get settled before breakfast." Sebastian said to them, glancing over at his master as the earl watched from the sidelines.

They both nodded and smiled a bit as they followed their son up the staircase and through the hallway to their guest room. Sebastian put the bags down long enough to produce the key to the room from his pocket and let them inside the room.

"Go ahead and get settled at your leisure. I will be-" Sebastian said to his parents, getting cut off when his mother reached up to take his face in her hands and pepper it with kisses before she hugged him tightly. He relaxed a bit in her arms and hugged her in return.

"We don't have much to get settled. Why don't we go down to breakfast now?" His father said with a small smile.

Sebastian nodded and straightened out his jacket a bit. "Follow me, please." He said, leading them out of the room.

"Hello, master. Mother, Father, this is Ciel Phantomhive, my wonderful master. There he is again." Sebastian said as they passed by the Earl, then a portrait of the young earl hanging above the staircase. "That was a terrible joke. I'm sorry."

Ciel just gave a soft sigh and shook his head as he fell in behind Sebastian's parents. He figured he'd might as well join in on the little group, since he didn't have much else to do. He followed as Sebastian lead them all to the dining room where the table had been set for the three of them, watching as his butler went around, pulling out the chairs for them all one by one, starting with his and moving to his parents'.

"If you will all wait here for a moment, please, I'll return with the food shortly." Sebastian said to them once they were all seated at the table.

Ciel nodded and made a small motion to shoo his butler out of the room. He made friendly conversation with Sebastian's parents for a little bit, though it only took about a minute or two until Sebastian returned with a cart of food.

"My, look at him go. It feels like it was only yesterday when he ran home to tell us about a customer who'd come in with big blue eyes, swearing to us that he'd take that boy to be his bride one day." His father mused as Sebastian served them all the food.

Ciel didn't miss the way Sebastian's eyes widened and his cheeks went bright pink while the other man poured him the freshly squeezed juice. He just smiled happily at that, looking over at his father. "Oh? Please, tell me more about that."


	10. Chapter 10

Ciel smiled and rested his head in his hand as he ate and listened to Sebastian's parents tell him all about the infatuation his butler had held towards a boy who'd always come into the bakery he'd worked at. On one hand, he found the thought of the young baker boy rather adorable. It didn't help anything as his parents described the pictures Sebastian would draw of himself and his Blue-Eyed Boy with the ink he was supposed to be using to practice his letters. He glanced back at his butler, who was standing facing the wall, his head pressed against it and looking as if he was tempted to start pounding his head into it.

There was something extremely amusing about seeing his butler so embarrassed, and something rather endearing about the thought of him fawning over him when they were children. He liked hearing about how the Blue-Eyed Boy was always a highlight of Sebastian's days in the bakery, and he bit his tongue to keep from mentioning that seeing the skinny, gangly, awkward baker boy handing him his sweets had been a highlight of his own childhood. Sebastian would always come up to him, practically running, with the dessert served on a plate, a big smile on his face as his brown eyes lit up with joy. Then, there were the times Vincent would make polite conversation with the little baker boy, and Ciel liked to just listen and watch as Sebastian spoke with a wide smile while he told them about the most recent tooth he'd lost and how his mother would go through the normal ritual of rubbing it with salt while he sang a good luck song in the hopes that the new tooth would grow in strong and healthy.

"Sebastian, make sure you prepare enough food for four people at lunch and dinner." Ciel said as his butler and Mey-Rin cleared away the dishes once they'd finished eating.

"Why, sir? There are only three of you." Sebastian replied, letting Mey-Rin take the dishes back to the kitchen to be washed.

"Because you'll be eating with us, of course. Your parents might not get to visit again for a while, it's important for you to spend time with them as much as possible." Ciel replied to him with a small smile.

Sebastian blinked at the answer before smiling a bit. "Thank you, master."

"It'll be nice to eat with you and hear all about your first days of working as a butler." His father said easily, getting up from the table with his wife.

"I'll be sure to tell you all about him. First, though, I have a stack of paperwork on my desk I've been procrastinating on. Sebastian can attest to that, I know. Besides, I think Sebastian was going to give you a tour around the manor and introduce you to everyone." Ciel said to the pair with a small smile up at his butler.

"Yes, I was. After you, master." Sebastian replied, moving to the door to hold it open for Ciel and his parents.

He left the room with them all and happily started to lead his parents through the large manor, going room by room and working his way from front to back on the first floor.

"This is ballroom. Master says he holds parties here whether he likes it or not. I have yet to witness any parties or him dancing at all, but Baldroy says it's extremely entertaining." Sebastian explained, watching his parents marvel at the size of the room and the elaborate decorations on the walls and at the chandelier that hung from the ceiling.

"It's gorgeous." His mother mused happily as they looked around the room. They followed Sebastian out as their son lead them from room to room, leading them back to the servants' wing of the house to show them his own bedroom. He let them look around at everything an marvel at everything.

"These are your other suits?" His father asked as he looked at the nicely hanging clothes in the wardrobe.

"Yes, those are the other ones. The clothes folded up are my night shirts." Sebastian said as his mother joined him at the wardrobe and started to look at and examine the fabric and technical details of the suits.

"These are extremely nice. This feels like a wool jacket. Whoever made this knows what they're doing and apparently wants to do their best to make sure you stay nice and warm." His mother mused, turning to her son to examine the suit he was wearing. "The stitch is perfectly straight and uniform and the entire outfit fits you like a glove, albeit, a slightly roomy glove to allow you to get up to a healthy weight. I think these buttons might be silver, too."

Sebastian smiled a bit as his mother examined his new clothes. "They were made by a Miss Nina Hopkins. Do you know her?"

"Nina? I know of her, but I've never met her before. They say she's one of the best in London, perhaps in all of England, too. Even working as her assistant would be amazing." She hummed as she examined her son's clothing. "Well, I'm glad your master's making sure you're well clothed here."

"Of course there's more the check over to make sure you're being treated well here. You might wear nice clothes, but I want to make sure you and the other workers are being treated fairly." His father said.

Sebastian nodded and moved to lead his parents out of the room, briefly showing them the bathroom he shared with the other servants as he lead them back to the kitchen where he found the other servants both working and relaxing.

Finny was the first to jump from his spot next to Tanaka and run over to the group, grinning at them widely. "Mr. Sebastian! Are these your parents? That's so cool, you look just like them! Well, mostly like your mama."

"Mother, Father, this is Finnian the gardener. Because of the snow that doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon, he doesn't have too much to do right now. Finnian, these are my parents." Sebastian said, introducing them to each other and stepping out of the way just before Finny started to eagerly and happily shake their hands eagerly.

"Hi! I'm Finny, but you know that now. I like Sebastian a lot, he's super tall." The gardener said excitedly, bouncing where he stood.

"Finny, you'll overwhelm them, you will." Mey-Rin said to the blonde boy, gently guiding him back a bit to let the group properly into the kitchen.

"Mother, Father, this is the maid, Mey-Rin. Mey-Rin, these are my parents." Sebastian said, letting them all shake hands with each other.

"I-It's nice to meet you. My-er-Mr. Sebastian's doing a really good job here." She said to them, her cheeks going pink when she glanced up at Sebastian to his brown eyes looking back down at her.

"Yeah, Sebastian's a good egg." Bard agreed, walking up behind Sebastian silently and clapping his hands down on his shoulders, making the butler jump. "Hi, I'm Bard, good to meet you."

"This is Baldroy, the chef. Baldroy, these are my parents." Sebastian said to the blonde man behind him.

"Nice to meet you. Like I said, Sebastian's a good egg. Pretty handsome one, too, though I'm sure he'll only get better once he gets a bit more meat and muscle on those bones." Bard said before giving a small mischievous smirk just before landing a rather firm smack to the other man's backside.

Sebastian jumped again at the gesture before feeling his cheeks start to burn. "My goodness, look at the time. Let's go now before too much more happens here." He said as he tried to hurry his parents out of the kitchen. His mother laughed a bit and happily waved to the other three servants as Sebastian eagerly ushered them out.

"It was really good to meet you." She said to them happily as they left, letting Sebastian lead him to the back servants' staircase to lead them up to the second floor.

They looked around at the nice rooms that they could, though there wasn't too much since the majority of the upper level were rooms that belonged to Ciel, and therefore would be a breach or privacy to show anyone.

Instead, he just sat with them in the library and talked with them contently as they asked him about his first few weeks as a butler and what he truly thought of the way his live was going while he was there.

"I'm always the first person to wake up in the morning and the last person to go to sleep. It's hard work, and my master often likes to make sure I'm working as hard as possible. Bard says it's not unlike training a soldier before he goes to war. Master wants to build me into a great butler, so he's pushing me as hard as he possibly can. However, he's not terrible and mean. I think he is very good to me. He pushes me hard, but every so often he takes a break to make sure I'm okay. He does what he does out of consideration for me. I get three meals a day, a good amount of sleep, a warm bed, and every morning I get a nice hot bath I can clean myself in. If I get sick or hurt at all, I know my master wouldn't hesitate to provide me with the care I need." Sebastian explained to them as they sat comfortably in the library for a while.

His parents listened and nodded in understanding, seeming rather pleased at that.

"Good. I'm glad. Just because you are his servant doesn't make you any less of a person. Never forget that, Sebastian." His father said, gently patting his son's arm.

Sebastian nodded and stayed to chat with his parents for a bit longer before parting so he could take care of cooking their lunch and make sure everything as ready for the meal.

Ciel heard Sebastian walk past the office and down the stairs and, after deciding he was bored of the paperwork that made his head pound, he let himself out of the room to find the other's parent's in the library. He'd never really been one for socializing too much on his own free will, but there was something extremely amusing about talking with his butler's parents. His mother seemed to warm up to him instantly, almost taking him under her wing as an honorary second son. His father, however, was much more reserved about nearly everything. He found it extremely fascinating to watch how Sebastian acted with his parents around while he was in the room, able to pin point each little flourish and detail Sebastian would add in, as if to earn proof of his father's favor. After all, when they'd been negotiating the terms of Sebastian's service to Ciel, the man had told his son he was embarrassing him and their family.

Sebastian's mother was much softer and sweeter while his father was much more proud and stern. Sebastian looked quite a bit like his mother, though he had his father's pride and stubbornness buried within him as well. Ciel figured it would be another month or so until Sebastian completely settled into his new life in the manor and got comfortable enough to start showing the rather headstrong side he'd been able to glimpse a couple times.

Ciel slipped into the library and joined the older pair of Catholics, talking with them contently and listening as they told him stories from Sebastian's childhood. He found it extremely fascinating to hear these stories. On one hand, many of the instances related closely to his own, like cuddling close between his parents when a thunderstorm rolled in in the middle of the night or being the first to wake up on Christmas morning. On the other hand, however, many points in their childhoods didn't align whatsoever. Sebastian had started working to help his family pay for food when he was seven. When Ciel had been seven, his biggest source of stress was from his lessons cutting into the time he would have preferred to be playing. When Ciel had lost a baby tooth, he'd show it to his mother, and she would spend the entire day proudly telling everyone she could about it, and having her little son open his mouth to show off the newfound gap in his teeth. When Sebastian had lost a baby tooth, he'd stick it in his pocket, tell another worker at the bakery and hold a rag soaked in saltwater to his bleeding gums for a little while before going back to work.

Ciel listened to the stories until they were called down for lunch and smiled as the stories continued all through the light meal, watching Sebastian keep his face down as he ate the salad slowly and politely, making sure no one could see the embarrassment on his face. He couldn't help but wonder if his parents would join in on sharing embarrassing stories they thought were cute, if the pair was around to do so. He quickly decided they most definitely would before forcing himself to think on something other than deceased parents. Instead, he lost himself in the stories and memory of the gangly little baker boy he'd always looked forward to seeing.

"It's amazing how just growing older can make a person look so different. I remember seeing you two when you were both very little when the late Earl and I would handle the debt negotiations. But, I guess a lot of toddlers look pretty much the same. Then, Sebastian hit a growth spurt when he was about five and I don't think that spurt ever really ended. I hope, for the sake of Miss Hopkins, his growth will finally stop soon." Sebastian's father mused as they all ate together at the table, glancing over his unusually quiet son.

"It is funny how different you two look now. You two used to be nearly identical, and now Sebastian seems to look more like your father did than you." His mother agreed, looking over at her son's face as well.

Ciel looked up and over at Sebastian at the comment, cocking his head a bit. On one hand, he could see a lot of his mother in the other young man's face, with his father's brown eyes. On the other hand, though, the woman was right. Sebastian had a face eerily similar to his father's. The only things he lacked were his father's hair and his father's mole just to the side of his eye. He couldn't help but wonder if it was his resemblance to Vincent that made him feel so secure and at ease when he stood by his butler's side.

"I suppose he does." He finally agreed before turning his attention back down to the food on his plate, not wanting to think about his father anymore, let alone Sebastian's uncanny resemblance to him. The idea that he might be attracted to a man who looked like his father was bizarre and felt almost more taboo than the idea that he might be attracted to another man whatsoever.

"Let's not talk about my face and dead parents. I'd rather not put anyone off their appetite." Sebastian finally piped up, giving a pointed look over to his parents when he could sense how uncomfortable Ciel seemed.

"Right, sorry." His mother said with a small smile to him as they all ate together and moved onto other topics.

Sebastian was rather relieved when lunch ended, and they all went to relax together, Ciel seeming happier to talk with the family than actually do his own work.

They relaxed for the rest of the day, Sebastian leaving a couple more times to make the afternoon tea, and then dinner. He could tell his parents had really started to approve of his new life in the manor as they realized he would be taken care of while he took care of the young earl.

At the end of the day, Sebastian left his parents to give Ciel his nightly bath, giving himself some time alone with his master.

"So, what all have you learned about getting rid of demons?" Ciel asked once the door was shut and they were alone.

"I confess I haven't had too much time for research, sir." Sebastian said as he stripped off his tailcoat and gloves and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows before moving to undress Ciel. "I know there might be some useful passages in Leviticus, and the Lord's Prayer might do something. Holy water and crucifixes and salt could work as well."

Ciel nodded, glancing down to see the light flush on Sebastian's cheeks as the man stripped him nude. "I see. I suppose there isn't enough time for you to find anyone in the Vatican to help. We'll just have to work with what we have."

"I might not be able to go to the Vatican, sir, but I might be able to talk to the Father at the church I- my parents go to." Sebastian suggested, letting Ciel sit on the edge of the tub to wait until it was full.

Ciel blinked and looked up at Sebastian. "You know, that's actually a rather good idea."

"I have them every so often. At least, I hope I do." Sebastian replied with a small smile to Ciel. "I think the water might be about ready, sir, if you would like to test it."

Ciel nodded and tested the water with his hand before deciding it was good enough and slipping into the bath. "Alright, so after your parents leave tomorrow, you will go out to your family's church and try to get in contact with the Father."

"Understood, sir. Please tilt your head back." Sebastian replied, taking a small bowl full of water from the tub and pouring it over Ciel's head to wet his hair.

Ciel held his head steady as he felt Sebastian start to work the bubbles of the shampoo into his hair. "Speaking of religion, how are you doing?"

"What do you mean sir?" Sebastian asked as he lathered the shampoo into Ciel's hair, fashioning the younger man's sudsy locks into a spike on the top of his head with a happy, childish smile.

"I mean, it's got to be hard on you to suddenly have to work against occult things and kill people who try to break in here on a regular basis." Ciel replied, turning his head to look over at Sebastian. His butler's eyes went wide and he clenched his mouth shut, looking as if he was trying to keep himself from bursting into laughter.

"I'm sorry. I can't take you seriously with your hair like that." Sebastian finally replied as the wave of hilarity passed, letting a few happy giggles.

"What have you done to me? Show me." Ciel asked with a small frown. He watched his giggling butler nod and fetch him a handheld mirror so he could see the small spike on top of his head.

"You're such an idiot." Ciel said, splashing a bit of water on his laughing servant.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Sebastian apologized between a few last giggles as he moved to rinse the shampoo from Ciel's hair so he could replace it with conditioner. "As for your question, though, it isn't exactly an easy thing for me to do. I know I have to do absolutely anything to protect you, even if it does include murder, but I'm still not too used to the feeling yet."

Ciel nodded in understanding, letting Sebastian get back to work, rather liking the feeling of the other man's fingers massaging his scalp and cleaning his hair. "I see. Just let me know if you ever feel like you want to go to a mass or confession or something sometime. I'm not going to let you stop protecting me, of course. But I guess it might be rather hard to simply yank someone out of their religion and expect them to be fine with it."

Sebastian nodded and smiled a bit at that. "Thank you, master. You're very kind."

Ciel rolled his eyes and just let Sebastian wash off his body before finishing the bath. "You always get all embarrassed when you undress me. I could understand it for the first few times, but you've been doing this every day for a few weeks." He mentioned as Sebastian helped him from the tub and wrapped him a large fluffy towel.

"I'm sorry, sir. It's not something I can help." Sebastian replied softly as he gently patted Ciel dry, trying not to think about how cute his messed up, wet hair was.

"I guess you'll get used to it eventually. It's not like you've been through a lot of pleasant things concerning nudity."

"Master."

"Right, sorry, that was insensitive. I won't joke about your past."

"Thank you, sir."

With that, Sebastian dressed Ciel in his nightshirt and put him to bed, as per usual, making sure he was perfectly comfortable and warm. He resisted every urge to kiss the other's forehead and simply moved to start winding down the day in the manor.

Eventually, his parents kissed him goodnight before they retired for the night. Then, the rest of the servants went to bed as well, leaving Sebastian as the last person awake once again.

Sebastian changed into his nightshirt and settled into his bed for the night, ready to relax and rest from the rather embarrassing day.

He had only just let his eyes fall shut when he heard someone scream from the upper level of the manor. He bolted out of his bed, the other servants doing the same.

"Sebastian, take a gun if you're going up there." Bard said, handing the butler a pistol as Mey-Rin sprinted to the stash of rifles they kept.

"Thank you." Sebastian replied before running up the stairs to see what was going on.

"Sebastian?" Ciel asked drowsily from the doorway of his bedroom. "What's going on? Did someone get inside?"

"I think so, but I don't know how." Sebastian replied, starting to inspect the area for any intruders.

He decided knocking on the door was rather unnecessary before he entered the guest room and he let himself inside, ready to release the safety on the pistol in his hand.

However, he froze up when he saw blood on the bed and floor of the room. His mother was laying lifeless on the bed, deep red stains on her nightgown. In the corner of the room, he saw two silhouettes holding his father. He made eye contact with his father, both of them looking as if they had no idea what was happening. Then, the moment passed and one of the silhouettes yanked the man's head back abruptly, letting his lifeless body drop to the floor.

"Well, well, it looks like someone decided to interrupt our fun." One of the silhouettes whispered.

"Or add to it. It's been a while since I got to play with an altar boy." The other replied.

"Sebastian." Ciel whispered, looking up at his butler, who was just frozen in shock. He gently took the gun from the other man's hand, letting Sebastian immediately wrap an arm around his smaller shoulders to hold him securely against himself.

"What do you think, Sebastian? We'll make you a deal. Completely submit to us, just for about half an hour, and we'll take our leave. We'll even make sure that neither you or your little master end up like dear old Mom and Dad." One of the silhouettes said, taking a few steps closer to the pair.

"Sebastian, you don't have to do it. It's a trap. Just shoot them and be done with it." Ciel said softly to his butler.

"You could try to shoot us, he's right. However, there's no guarantee that the bullets will do anything. There's no guarantee that you won't absolutely piss us off if you try it." One of the silhouettes added, the pair's eyes starting to glow a bright fuchsia in the dark room.

"Sebastian, you don't have to do this." Ciel whispered, trying to read his butler's face in the dark.

"Yes, I do. If I don't sacrifice myself, then you will die. I'll have failed as your butler. I've failed as a good son and a good Catholic. I'm not going to fail as your servant." Sebastian replied to Ciel softly before letting him go and letting the silhouettes gently guide him into the bedroom.

"We will only be about half an hour." One of the silhouettes said to Ciel.

Ciel frowned when he saw the fear in Sebastian's brown eyes before the door slammed shut.


	11. Chapter 11

The next thirty minutes felt more like an eternity to Ciel. He'd been able to round up the other servants, just in case he needed them when the door finally opened again.

The door opened to a room, the windows open, three bodies strewn about.

Bard frowned as he held a candle up to examine the room, first seeing the body of Sebastian's father on the floor, then seeing Sebastian and his mother on the bed. When he got a bit closer and held the candle out, he could see the shreds of fabric on the bed and the floor, the young butler's pale skin looking even whiter in the moonlight. His clothes had all been torn away, leaving him naked as the day he was born. Goosebumps from the winter air littered his skin along with the sheen of sweat, a few red scratches, and another substance Bard refused to even think about. He looked over the other man's body, quickly looking back at the other's head and shoulders when he noticed to drying blood between his thighs.

"Mr. Sebastian's naked and dead!" Finny gasped from behind Bard, looking close to tears. "Just like his parents, only they're not naked…"

"I'm not too sure if he's dead." Bard replied, walking over to Sebastian to gently press a couple fingers to the side of his neck and check for a pulse. "Yeah, he's alive and kicking."

Ciel frowned a bit as he stepped into the room hesitantly as Sebastian began to stir and whine softly on the bed, hating the way the man sounded so pitiful, like a wounded puppy.

"Mey-Rin, can you get a blanket for me? Finny, can you do me a solid and shut those windows?" Bard asked the other servants, who nodded and complied almost immediately. "Hey, Sebastian, can you hear me, buddy? Can you open your eyes? I promise it's not bright, so it won't hurt."

"It hurts. My whole body's on fire." Sebastian whispered between whines of pain as Mey-Rin ran back in with a blanket.

"I know, buddy, but you're gonna be okay. Just bear with me for a bit, this might not feel great." Bard replied, draping the blanket over Sebastian before reaching under him so he could pick the man up in his arms and carry him.

Sebastian whined in pain as Bard moved him around until he was wrapped in the blanket and held in Bard's arms like a baby.

"What do we do?" Ciel asked over his butler's moans of pain, still in awe of the lengths his butler had gone through for his sake.

"Well, I think the only things we can do right now is give him a good bath and make sure he sleeps long and hard, young master. It might be a good idea to call a doctor in tomorrow morning, too, just in case he develops a fever or anything." Bard replied.

Ciel nodded and moved to walk with Bard down to the servants' bathroom so they could wash and bathe Sebastian. While the bathtub filled, Ciel sat with Sebastian resting on his lap, holding the taller man close to himself. "You're going to be alright, I promise." He said softly to him.

"Are you alright?" Sebastian asked him softly, panting a bit from the pain that continuously lit flames along his entire body.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine. You did a great job protecting me, Sebastian. You were extremely brave." Ciel replied, gently rubbing the other man's arm as he held him on his lap.

Sebastian smiled up at Ciel at that, letting the other just sit with him until the water was ready. He eventually grew used to the sensation of feeling as if his body was on fire inside and out, along with the growing pressure just between his shoulder blades, as if something wanted out.

Bard washed off Sebastian's body while Ciel washed his hair, the young earl having to remember how Sebastian did everything to have any idea what to do. Mey-Rin and Finny brought in a towel and a fresh nightshirt for him.

"Do you think he'd feel better if I brought in one of those cats from outside?" Finny asked as he watched the pair wash the butler, who looked as if he could doze off once again at any moment.

"That might not be a good idea with young master in the room. Maybe save it for tomorrow." Bard replied with a small smile as they finished up. "Okay, Sebastian, I'm gonna lift you up and out now."

Sebastian just hummed in reply, letting Bard take him under the arms and lift him out of the hot water. He whined and squeezed his eyes shut at the harsh stings of pain that shot up his back from his hips when he was moved out of the tub.

"How do you feel, can you stand?" Bard asked with a small frown.

Sebastian just nodded and held his eyes shut. His legs shook a bit underneath him, but he pushed himself to endure the pain that coursed through his body as he was dried with the towel and helped into his nightshirt. With that, he was slowly guided down the hallway to his bedroom, Bard on his right side and Ciel on his left, both of them keeping close.

"Just one step at a time. Don't rush yourself." Ciel said to the butler who limped and winced with each step he took. He gently helped to guide Sebastian down to the bed, hating the way the man whined loudly as he sat down on the mattress.

"Just get some rest, okay? Don't worry about the schedule or anything tomorrow and sleep for as long as you need to. You're getting the day off and we'll have a doctor come in to make sure you aren't sick or anything." Ciel said to his butler once he was laying down in the bed.

"Okay, master. Thank you." Sebastian replied softly to Ciel, only barely opening his eyes as the younger man pushed some of his wet hair from his face.

"It's not a problem. Now get some sleep, okay?" Ciel replied with a small smile to the other man as the other servants left the room so the butler could sleep. Once they were out, Ciel took the chance to press a soft quick kiss to Sebastian's forehead. "Sleep well, Sebastian." He whispered before finally pulling away.

It took Sebastian a couple seconds to register what had happened. When he finally did, however, he couldn't help but break into a happy grin, figuring he might not get something like that for quite some time, if ever again. So, he'd commit the feeling of Ciel's soft, warm lips on his skin to memory and cherish it for the rest of time.

Despite the countless horrors he'd been through in the past hour and the way his body felt like it was being ceaselessly bathed in fire, Sebastian slipped asleep to the happy thought of Ciel kissing him, and the possibility that he'd do it again one day. If he was a good enough butler, he might just get another sweet kiss from the other man. Perhaps it would be on a cheek or his nose or his forehead again. Maybe Ciel would take a different route and kiss his eyelids. However, a kiss on the mouth would never happen, and he knew he was an idiot to even slightly hope that it would.

Sebastian didn't stay asleep for more than a couple hours longer, the pain growing stronger and stronger once again until he was writhing in his bed and sobbing. Instinctually, he turned over to his stomach and arched his back a bit as he felt the pressure build up further and further between his shoulder blades until, finally, it released with the sound of fluttering feathers. All at once, the pain and fire was gone once again and he felt perfectly fine.

A bit hesitantly, Sebastian sat up to kneel on his bed and reach behind him to see what had happened on his back. He felt his eyes go wide when he felt the torn back of the nightshirt, then the soft, downy feeling of feathers underneath. Deciding that shirt was ruined, too, he took it off before going over to the small mirror on his wall to see if he could examine himself.

When he saw his face, however, he gasped and stumbled back away from it, falling onto his bed once again. He took a few deep breaths before working himself back up to look at himself once again.

He hadn't thought it was possible, but his skin seemed to have gone a shade or two paler. His dark eyelashes had gotten longer and thicker, and his face seemed to have a healthier shape, the bones of his cheeks less evident. He ran his tongue around his mouth, opening it up to the mirror to find that his back teeth had sharpened to points like fangs. The most striking difference, however, had to be his eyes. Instead of the deep brown they'd once been, they now were a deep wine red, and almost seemed to glow in the darkness of his bedroom.

He turned his head to inspect his back, only to find that a pair of large black wings had sprouted from between his shoulder blades, like an extra set of limbs. He looked down at his own body, blinking when he found that he wasn't as skinny as he'd once been. Instead, only the base of his rib cage could be seen now, and he'd gained a layer of lean muscle on his body. His shoulders had broadened a bit and he didn't seem quite as gangly and awkward as he'd been only hours before. He wiggled his toes a bit, noticing that the nails had gone completely black on his toes as well as his fingers. He didn't know what exactly had happened and what had become of him, but he knew he most likely wasn't human anymore.

He stood in front of his little mirror, silently wishing he looked more human so he wouldn't scare anyone. If they saw him like that, he'd be put in a circus's freakshow in an instant. As he wished it, he watched his back teeth return to normal and his new wings seem to disappear completely. He figured that would have to do, as his nails and eyes didn't seem to want to change.

So, Sebastian donned another, fresh nightshirt and moved to crawl back to his bed and pretend everything was normal.

"Let's get this finished, we're running late as it is. Of course, who knows whose fault that is." He heard a voice say from somewhere in the house.

Sebastian left the bed silently, quickly making his way through the house, grabbing a broom to use as a weapon until he found something better.

"Oh, hush, we're not that late. Besides I was very busy." Another voice said dismissively.

Sebastian frowned when he found the sources coming from a pair of men in suits on the second floor, the two of them moving to go into the guest room where they'd left the bodies of his parents until they could call the Undertaker to take care of them properly. He held tightly to his broom, not thinking much before he jumped up to the banister of the staircase, perching on top of it silently. He slipped down to the floor once again, readying the broom as the pair tried to work on the locked door. He silently raised the heavier end of the broom over his shoulder, poising himself just before swung it at the heads of the intruders.

Just before the bristled end of the broom could connect, one of the men in the suits reached up and grabbed the base of the broom, looking over his shoulder at Sebastian.

"I thought I smelled something wretched." He said, his partner next to him peering over and breaking into a wide grin to show off his pointed teeth.

"Well, hello there. I don't think I've met you before." The partner said, moving over to get closer to Sebastian until he was practically pressed flush against them.

Sebastian was about to push him away when the other man in the suit grabbed his partner by the long, red hair and pulled him away.

"And you won't be meeting that thing. Demons only ever make things difficult. They're much more work than they're worth." He replied sharply.

"You need to get out of this house now. I don't know who you are, how you got in, or what you're talking about. Get out of here before I'm forced to kill you." Sebastian replied with a hard frown, making the redhead's two-toned eyes go wide behind his glasses.

"What do you mean you don't know what he's talking about?" He asked softly. "Willy, he might just be a newborn. You can't seriously want to fight a baby, practically naked demon, could you? Not that the latter's much of an issue."

"I'm going to choose to ignore that last comment. I don't care how young it is or how much clothing it's wearing. He started it and I'll end it." The other man replied with a hard frown.

"I'm not a demon. I'm nothing special. I'm just a butler." Sebastian said softly with a small frown.

"He really is just a baby. Do most demons leave their fledglings so quickly? He doesn't even know what he is." The redhead thought aloud with a small frown.

"Take a look at yourself in the mirror and then look me in the eyes and tell me you see a human. You're a thing. Now, if you're done having an identity crisis, you can leave us alone to do our work and we'll be gone."

"I can't do that. I'm sworn to protect this house and the master that resides in it from intruders." Sebastian replied, picking his broom up again, making a mental note to carry a weapon on his person at all times from then on so he wouldn't have to resort to using something like a broom. "My master is asleep. You will go quietly so you don't wake him."

"Ah, you hear that? The baby is sleeping. What a wonderful reason." Will said with a roll of his eyes.

"Tell me why you're hear and why I shouldn't smash your head against the wall." Sebastian replied, feeling his patience wearing thin.

"We're reaping the souls of the bodies in that room for judgment."

"When you're done, will you leave immediately?"

"Yes. We will have nothing else to do."

Sebastian frowned before reluctantly setting the broom aside and walking forward to unlock the door to the guest room for the pair. "You must agree to leave these bodies unmolested and let them have their peace."

"A demon that cares about the well being of a couple corpses. That's new." Will said with a small frown.

"That's my business. Get your job done and get out before I break your glasses." Sebastian replied with a small frown, letting the pair into the room and lingering in the hallway, just in case.

Sebastian watched the pair go into the room, the redhead looking back at him over his shoulder. He could hear the redhead, whose name he soon learned was Grell, whispering softly to his partner about whether or not it was good for a newborn demon to be all alone so quickly.

"Of course it's not, but there's nothing we can do. Maybe this will work out. He'll get comfortable in his new body while surrounded by humans. Perhaps it'll make him docile and easier to work with." The other man replied before they got to work.

"Elisabeth Theresa Michaelis, wife of Peter Andrew Michaelis and mother of Sebastian Alexander Michaelis. Born September third, 1850. Died January 29th, 1892." Grell read out as the woman's life played through in front of them, a lot of it containing happy memories of her little son, one of the last ones being seeing him as a butler in that manor. He glanced out at the door of the room, quickly putting two and two together and swallowing. "No additional comments."

"Peter Andrew Michaelis, husband of Elisabeth Theresa Michaelis and father of Sebastian Alexander Michaelis. Born March 12th, 1846. Died January 29th, 1892." Will read out, watching the life play in front of him. Most of it was spent with his wife and son, the man working tirelessly to try and make sure their little boy grew up to be a great man, despite their place on the social ladder. His last day was spent being constantly reassured that his son had grown to become someone he could be proud of. His very last moment had been spent staring at the face of his son, screaming at himself to use his last breath to tell his son how proud he was. In the end, though, he waited too long, and his vocal cords had been torn out before he could use them. "No additional comments."

Grell sighed softly as they finished up. "Just wait for me outside, okay? I'll be right there, I promise." He said before moving out to the demon sitting against the wall in the hallway.

"It's not so bad, you know, not being human. Your parents were really good people and they were really proud of you. They're going to a better place now. They'll be at peace forever." Grell said softly, crouching down next to the demon and wrapping his arm around the other's shoulders.

"That's good. I should be crying right now, but I can't." Sebastian replied softly, letting Grell hold his shoulders.

"That one's not your fault. Unless something happens to their mate, a demon really can't cry. They only ever truly shed tears for a mate. It doesn't make you a shitty son or anything. It just makes you a normal demon."

Sebastian just nodded and sighed a bit, letting Grell rub his shoulder a bit.

"I'll see you around, Sebastian." Grell finally said, happily pressing a kiss to his cheek that left a red lipstick stain on his skin before the other man went back into the guest room and slipped out the window, leaving him totally alone in the manor with his thoughts.


	12. Chapter 12

Sebastian spent the next few minutes wandering around. He stepped out into the cold January air briefly to find a small stray cat and bring it inside. He then returned to his bedroom, sitting on his bed with the cat cradled in his arms like an infant.

"Where to go from here? I can't let any of them know I'm any different and wrong. I need to act like I'm not completely fine, health wise. I need to play along for just a little bit." Sebastian thought aloud, looking down at the small cat his arms, gently stroking it's belly. "What about master, though? He's got a lot of intelligence in that little body. He'll see right through me. Will he still want me around if I'm not the man he originally hired anymore? If he decided to get rid of me…"

Sebastian trailed off at that, quickly coming to the realization that he had absolutely nothing outside that house. He had no family left to comfort him, no wealth or anything to fall back on. He had no friends, and he knew he wouldn't be welcomed in the church. The world suddenly seemed a lot larger and scarier than he remembered it being, as he realized that he would never see his parents again. There would be no more visits or embarrassing stories. There wouldn't be anymore Easter or Christmas celebrations. His parents would never wish him a happy birthday ever again. He wouldn't be receiving any more personal letters from anyone in the mail, because they'd been the only people who'd ever written to him. His mother would never pet his hair or kiss him goodnight ever again, and he'd never feel the rush of pride when he heard his father call him 'my boy' ever again.

The next day, the Undertaker would come to retrieve the bodies, then the funeral would be a few days later. Sebastian would have to write and give a eulogy in front of the people who would show up. It would likely be a small group of people from the church and people his parents had worked with, along with himself and the other servants and Ciel. Then, it would all be over, and the last shreds of them would be gone from his life and he'd have to go back to his daily routine in the manor, because that manor was the only thing he truly had left anymore.

Sebastian clung close to the cat, laying down on his bed with it as he felt himself start to cry tearlessly. The only thing he had left was his life in that manor, and even that wasn't necessarily guaranteed anymore. Ciel had been good to him up until that point, but everybody had a breaking point. Sometime, Ciel would have to give up on him and stop being so kind all the time. He might throw him out and leave him completely on his own in his new body, without any semblance of a clue as to what he truly was and how that would affect his life from then on.

Eventually, Sebastian passed out from exhaustion, sleeping with the cat curled up next to him until he felt a hand gently shaking his shoulder.

"Mr. Sebastian? The doctor just got here. It's time to wake up, okay?" Finny said a bit timidly.

Sebastian hummed as he woke up, blinking awake to the sight of the blonde boy next to him, gently petting the cat on his bed as he watched him with his big eyes.

Finny blinked at the sight of the red irises that met his own, but just decided to brush it off. There was something about Sebastian that definitely seemed off, but he had no idea what it would be. Besides, he'd been told quite a bit that he wasn't too observant about most things. It was more than likely that Sebastian had always been that way and he'd just never noticed.

"How're you feeling, Mr. Sebastian?" Finny asked curiously, figuring it would be good to continue talking and keep the other man awake until the doctor came back to the room.

"Not amazing." Sebastian replied honestly. "Can you do me a favor quick?"

"What is it, Mr. Sebastian?" Finny asked, smiling a bit at the thought that he could be useful to the butler.

"This cat, can you put it in my wardrobe? If master sees it, he'll get angry and I don't want it to have to go back outside. The cold winter air isn't good for anyone, let alone a small animal."

Finny blinked at the request and smiled a bit before nodding. He quickly scooped up the cat and put it in the wardrobe gently, shutting the doors to it just as the doctor and Ciel walked into the room.

"Good morning, Mr. Michaelis. The earl says you're just in need of a regular checkup. However, since you were also the victim of a sexual assault, I'm going to have to do further examinations that are a bit more intrusive." The doctor said as he moved to get his things set up on the desk in the room.

Sebastian nodded in understanding, letting Finny help him up into a sitting position in the bed. Beside him, Ciel sneezed into his arm a few times.

The doctor started to run regular examinations on Sebastian, checking his heartbeat and breathing with the cold stethoscope pressed against his chest and his back. Ciel continued sneezing.

"If you'll excuse me." Ciel said between sneezes, walking out of the room to the hallway where his sinuses could clear up once again.

Sebastian opened his mouth, letting the doctor stick a thermometer underneath his tongue for a little bit before removing it and reading it.

"Well, you look like you're running a little hot, but you don't seem to be exhibiting any other symptoms that go with a fever. It might be that you're body temperature's a bit over the average, which is perfectly fine and normal." The doctor explained to him as he wiped off the thermometer. "Otherwise, you seem fine. There's no illnesses I can find. Now, onto the next portion of the examination. About how much pain are you in as of right now? Earl Phantomhive said you seemed to be in agony last night."

"My hips are a little sore, but that's it. Overall, I feel fine." Sebastian replied honestly.

"Alright. Well, I'm still going to have to check you over. I'll be as quick as possible, I promise." The doctor said, glancing over at the other servants in the room.

"I think that's our cue to leave them alone." Bard said, following Mey-Rin and Finny out of the room and shutting the door behind them to give Sebastian and the doctor their privacy.

Sebastian frowned a bit as he let the doctor guide him out of his bed and bent him over his desk. He closed his eyes and made himself focus on something else as he felt the doctor push his nightshirt up, spread his legs a bit wider and gently pull his cheeks apart to examine him.

"Nothing seems to be torn, thankfully. So you're fine externally. I'm going to have to check your prostate, though." The doctor said to him. "Just take a deep breath on three, alright?"

"Alright." Sebastian replied softly.

"One, two, three." The Doctor counted out before he slipped a finger into him, making Sebastian's breath hitch and his cheeks burn.

Sebastian did his best to keep quiet, though he couldn't really help himself when he felt a moan rise from the pit of his stomach as the doctor's finger pressed against the bundle of nerves.

"It's perfectly normal to make a noise, don't worry. Now, take another deep breath in and out." The doctor said to him, pulling the finger out as Sebastian exhaled.

Sebastian relaxed a bit when he felt the finger slide out and his nightshirt drop back down as the doctor backed away and let him sit back down on his bed.

"Well, everything seems perfectly fine, externally and internally. There's no tearing or rupturing that I can find. Physically, there's no trauma that can be found. However, that's just physically. There's not much that can be done about any trauma on your spirit, however. The only thing that will heal it will be surrounding yourself with positive and caring people and time. If it helps, you could always report the assault to the Scotland Yard. They might not be able to do much, but there's always the chance that they will." The doctor said to him easily.

"I don't think they'll be able to do anything. The perpetrators are long gone by now and I didn't even see their faces to begin with." Sebastian replied with a shake of his head.

"Alright. As for the pain, it will go away, likely before tomorrow. Just rest and lay low today."

Sebastian nodded and watched the doctor go to the door and exit the room, hearing him report everything to Ciel in the hallway, who just listened and nodded in understanding.

Ciel walked back into the room and went over to his butler on the bed, sitting down next to him. He opened his mouth to speak, getting cut off by a couple more sneezes.

"What is in here? Jesus Christ, it can't be that dusty." He asked, rubbing his nose. "Oh, sorry. I mean, It can't be that dusty."

"It's fine, I don't really care about it anymore, sir. You can say whatever you please." Sebastian replied softly to Ciel, glancing over when he saw the other's big blue eyes widen a bit in surprise.

"Are you okay? This seems really unlike you, Sebastian."

"With all due respect, sir, that's a really stupid question, don't you think? 'Am I okay?' I've done everything in my life to help my family and be a good boy. When I was old enough, I went to work in the bakery everyday, sacrificing my childhood for the sake of my family's income. When that wasn't enough, I sacrificed my body for the sake of my family's income. When even that wasn't enough, I came here to work for, sacrificing whatever left I had of my free will," Sebastian said, getting up from his seat on the bed and pacing around in front of the wide-eyed earl. "I've murdered and committed sin after sin for you, continuously tainting myself. And, just when I started to hope and pray that this will all be rewarded in the end, what happened? I saw my parents both murdered just before I sacrificed my body again for you. This is how God decides to reward me?"

"Sebastian…" Ciel said softly, watching his butler get visibly angrier and angrier.

"God holds no love for me anymore, if he ever did to begin with." Sebastian said, grabbing a vial of holy water he'd taken from home and throwing the thing against the wall as hard as he could, watching the glass and water explode against the wall and fall to the ground. "I'm damned. Likely since the day I was born."

Smashing the vial hadn't been enough to relieve his anger, so he took to his Bible next, unaware of the way his pupils changed to slits and his irises started to glow as he grabbed pages of the book and tore, letting them litter the floor. When he was satisfied with the amount of pages he'd torn, he grabbed them all and shoved them into the small fireplace in his room, the logs and pages catching fire without anything other than his own will.

"Sebastian, stop this!" Ciel finally said, grabbing his butler's wrist as the man grabbed the rosary on his nightstand, holding him firmly before he could toss the string of beads into the fire as well. "You're angry, I know. You're angry and you're hurting. Losing a parent is hard, and it's much worse when you lose both of them."

Sebastian listened to Ciel, letting the smaller man gently turn him around to face him rather than the fireplace. He looked down at the string of rosary beads in his hand, remembering how adamant his mother had been about making sure he had brought them to the manor.

"I'm not saying it's going to get any better anytime soon. It's going to hurt for a while. To lose your parents is one thing, losing your religion is another thing entirely. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to lose them both at once. But, destroying things won't help anything. The only thing you can do is carry on living. The world continues to turn and life carries on, even without them. It's your job to continue on living." Ciel said with a small frown to his butler, looking up at the taller man. Something about his butler was definitely off, but he figured it could just be the throes of grief doing it to him.

Sebastian just stayed silent before moving to wrap his arms around Ciel in a tight embrace, just holding the young earl close to himself. "I'm sorry, master." He said softly.

"It's alright. I understand." Ciel replied softly, letting Sebastian hold him and gently stroke his hair as he started to sneeze once again. "Honestly, what is in here?"

Sebastian blinked at the question before pulling away to go to his wardrobe and silently take out the small cat who'd been asleep by his shoes at the base of the wardrobe. The cat mewed in annoyance as he woke it up, though still too tired to fight back as he cradled it like a baby in his arms. "I brought it in last night. It's so small and it's so cold outside. It wouldn't have been able to make it. There was so much death last night, this kitten didn't need to add to it."

Ciel pulled out a handkerchief to shield his mouth and nose from the cat and it's hair in an attempt to save his fragile respiratory system. "Sebastian, I'm allergic, you know this."

"I know, but it's just a baby You can't just abandon a little baby." Sebastian replied with a small frown, reminding himself of the two men in the suits and how worried the redhead had seemed over the fact that he was supposedly a baby who'd been abandoned right away.

"Sebastian, I'm sorry, but my hands are tied. If it was just a small allergy, It would be fine. But if it gets too close to me, my asthma might act up again and I won't be able to breathe." Ciel said with a small frown.

Sebastian nodded, letting Ciel call Bard in to take the little cat away from him, trying his best not to think about how the little thing would more than likely die before it could see the spring flowers in bloom or catch any birds when they migrated back. He must have looked close to tears, because he felt Ciel walk over to him and gently guide him down to sit on the bed once again.

Ciel sat down next to Sebastian, wrapping an arm around the man as they were left alone in the room once again and gently rubbing his arm. "I'm sorry, Sebastian. This is just the way it is, you know."

"I know, master. You can't control your allergies." Sebastian replied with a nod to Ciel and a small sigh.

Ciel just nodded and kept close to the man. He couldn't shake the feeling that something about Sebastian was very, very different, but he decided against dwelling on the subject for too long.

"If it helps anything, I think you're a very good butler. Sure, you have room to improve, but that'll come with time." Ciel said gently to Sebastian, trying to console him in anyway he could. "I'm glad that I'll be able to watch you grow and evolve. I'm rather proud to call you mine."

"Thank you, sir. I'm proud to be able to work under your name." Sebastian replied honestly, looking over at Ciel and making eye contact with him briefly.

Then, Ciel leaned in to press a soft, quick kiss to the center of his forehead.

Sebastian didn't have any idea of what came over him. All he knew was that the kiss made him feel warm and safe, as if he was wrapped up in a soft blanket in front of a fireplace with a cup of hot tea in his hands. He also knew that he didn't want the feeling to disappear so quickly.

So, without thinking twice, he took Ciel's face in his hands and pressed their mouths together in an attempt to replicate the sweet, adoring kisses he only ever saw couples share on their wedding day, the kind of kiss he'd always dreamt of sharing with his little Blue-Eyed Boy.


	13. Chapter 13

Ciel just about felt his heart spring from his chest the moment he felt Sebastian's mouth on his own, his eyes going wide as his brain seemed to freeze up before scrambling to find a way out of the situation. He gave himself one second to think about how soft and warm Sebastian's lips were against his own, and how it actually wasn't that bad, before putting his hands out and using all his strength to shove Sebastian away from him and off of the bed. He panted a bit, still trying to get a handle on what had happened as he registered that Sebastian was on the floor, looking up at him rather quizzically.

"What the hell was that?" Ciel blurted out after a few more seconds of shocked silence.

"I kissed you, master." Sebastian replied as he sat up from where he lay on the floor.

"Yes, I know, that was extremely obvious. I want to know why." Ciel snapped back, looking over at the butler.

"Well, you kissed me first, sir. I just assumed it would be alright." Sebastian replied calmly, watching the younger man from his seat on the floor.

Ciel blinked at the reasoning, looking over at the other man and trying to figure out where his head was. It was as if he'd totally forgotten how normal human reasoning worked out.

"It was just on the forehead. It was totally platonic with no hidden affection behind it at all." Ciel replied with a small frown. "What's gotten into you, Sebastian?"

Sebastian just stayed silent, having been absolutely sure that Ciel kissing his forehead had been a silent plea for more affection. He just stood up, using the bed as leverage to lift himself up off the ground.

Ciel grabbed Sebastian's hand once the man was standing, frowning at the sight of the pure black fingernails. It was a small detail he'd nearly missed, but it lead to him looking up and noticing Sebastian's new red irises and the overall different appearance of his face. He looked a lot healthier, as if he'd suddenly lost any trace of years of malnourishment overnight, as well as totally finishing puberty.

"Tell me the truth, Sebastian, what happened to you last night?" Ciel asked with a small frown.

"The two silhouettes, evidently men, attacked me from the front and back. I'll spare you the details, since I'm sure you can figure those out on your own. I was in intense pain for what felt like forever, but then it simply stopped in the middle of the night. Some men broke into the house, but I think they were just here to remove my parents' souls. There were two of them, one with red hair and another with black hair. The one with red hair kept getting all worried and saying I was just a baby. The one with black hair didn't seem to care. He said a demon's a demon, no matter the circumstance." Sebastian explained to Ciel with a small frown.

Ciel listened to his butler, looking down at the man sitting on the floor next to him. "And what do you think of all of this?"

"I don't know what to think, sir. I'm confused and scared and very, very angry. I'm not sure what exactly I'm angry at, I just know that I'm angry." Sebastian replied honestly, looking down at his hands and black fingernails in thought. "I guess, one good thing has come out of this, though."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"At least, now I have the capacity to truly become the best Butler in Great Britain for you. Perhaps even the world."

Ciel smiled softly at the reply and looked down at Sebastian, reaching down to mess up his dark, silky hair before holding his hand out to the other man.

"I look forward to watching you grow, then. I'm sorry I pushed you off the bed." Ciel said, helping the larger man up from the ground.

"It's fine, master. I was out of line." Sebastian replied softly as he stood up and sat on the bed next to Ciel once again.

Ciel just nodded, looking over at the taller man seated next to him on the bed. He couldn't help but notice how nice Sebastian's face looked from the side. The man had a nice, sharp jawline, a perfectly straight nose, and thick, dark lashes that fanned over his cheeks delicately when he looked down. It was the kind of face he knew any man or woman would kill to have.

"The kind of face that could get someone in trouble…" Ciel thought aloud.

Sebastian blinked at the sudden words, looking down at Ciel. "I'm sorry, sir? What did you say?"

"Huh?" Ciel asked, in just as much shock as his butler. Before he could answer, he heard a familiar peal of laughter coming from in the main entry area of the manor.

"I suppose I'd better go see to him. You just keep resting, I'll be back." Ciel said softly, patting Sebastian's lap before getting up and leaving the room.

Ciel walked out to meet the Undertaker, leading the older man up to the room where they'd been keeping the bodies of Sebastian's parents and watching as Bard and Finny helped to carry them out of the manor so the room could be cleaned and they could be prepared for burial. He silently talked with the Undertaker about funeral and burial plans.

"It'll be a proper Catholic ceremony and burial, that much is a no-brainer. I'll pay for everything, of course. I'll contact the priest at the family's church once you leave to start planning everything out. I'll have to check with Sebastian about how much he has to be or wants to be a part of everything." Ciel thought aloud, figuring Sebastian would probably know much more about Catholic funeral rites than he would.

"At the very least, Mr. Butler will have to give a eulogy at the vigil, attend the Funeral Mass, and attend the Interment as well. For two bodies, the embalming process should take a couple days. I expect they'll be ready for viewing by Wednesday." The Undertaker replied with a nod. "Well, Earl, talk over everything with Mr. Butler and keep in touch."

Ciel nodded and watched the Undertaker leave with the bodies before moving to get Tanaka to call the priest of Sebastian's family's church and heading back to his butler's room. He knocked twice on the door before letting himself inside, finding himself welcomed by the sight of Sebastian attempting to contort himself on his bed like a circus performer.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Ciel asked, absentmindedly wondering if becoming a demon entailed gaining extreme flexibility as well as turning bones into rubber, so one man could be able rest on his belly with his hips near his head and his feet resting in front of him, his toes pointed so they just barely touched the mattress.

"Sorry, sir. I got bored, that's all." Sebastian replied, falling out of the position to return to just laying on his stomach on the bed.

Ciel just shook his head and sat down next to the other man. "Well, I'll remember you can do that if we ever have to infiltrate a circus or something."

"I wonder how likely such a thing would be." Sebastian hummed in reply.

"Who knows? Circuses, cults, a lot of weird things come around in the underground of London. But, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to let you know that the bodies of your parents are out of the manor now and are on their way to being embalmed as we speak. They should be ready by Wednesday, and Tanaka is on the phone with your priest to start setting everything up for the vigil and mass and burial."

Sebastian listened as Ciel spoke and nodded in understanding, keeping silent.

"I need to know how comfortable you are with being involved in the planning process for these next few days. I can understand if you don't want to do much more than work on writing a eulogy."

"I want to be involved in the process, sir. I just don't want to be much of a burden if it turns out I emotionally can't handle it." Sebastian said softly, looking over at the Earl.

"You'll never be a burden, Sebastian, no matter the circumstance. You're a good butler, and you'll only get better from here on out."

Sebastian nodded and moved to sit up so he was sitting on the bed next to Ciel. "I'm going to make sure you remember that, sir."

"Oh no."

"I'm going to need a replacement sleep shirt or two, sir. I accidentally ruined one last night."

"What happened?"

"Well, I tore a couple very large holes in the back. It's beyond repair, I think."

"How did you do something like that?"

"Well, evidently, I have wings now, but I can control when they come out. "

Ciel blinked at the news and nodded in understanding. "Alright. I'll get some more made once all this funeral planning is finished."

Sebastian nodded and looked over at Ciel after a bit of silence. "Master, I think we ought to address the elephant in the room."

"You mean the kiss?" Ciel asked, perfectly happy with avoiding the topic altogether.

"Yes, I do." Sebastian replied with a nod.

Ciel sighed a bit and looked over at his butler. "I'd be lying to you if I said I hated it and didn't want to do it again. Wipe that smile off your face. We need to keep this as silent as possible. Whatever this relationship is or becomes will be kept completely between you and I. Do you understand?"

Sebastian nodded, grinning at Ciel all the while. He decided he didn't care if it had to be kept a secret and would have to consist of a few fleeting kisses and touches here and there. Just so long as he had Ciel in some sort of way, he would be happy. "Yes, sir. May I kiss you now?"

"Let me close the door." Ciel replied, getting up once again to shut the door before he seated himself next to his butler, letting the man start kissing him immediately. Without the shock that had taken over the first kiss, he found himself finally able to enjoy the feeling of their mouths pressed together. Sebastian's lips were warm and soft against his own and the butler kept the kiss nice and slow and gentle. He felt the other man raise his hands to gently cup his cheeks, loving the feeling of his warm, gentle fingers against his skin. The feeling of it was completely intoxicating, and Ciel let Sebastian pull him closer until they were both laying down on his bed, tangled up in each other.

After what felt like much too short of a period, Ciel finally pulled away and left to let Sebastian start working on writing a eulogy for his parents while he went to his own set of tasks.

The next few days kept Sebastian rather busy as he helped to plan his parents' funeral, run the manor, and spend the nights drafting and revising the eulogy for the vigil. Keeping up the act of being human was a lot easier than he'd thought it would be. However, the other servants were seemingly a lot stupider than he'd thought, so they probably might not have noticed a thing at all.

Between tasks, Sebastian would often find Ciel calling him up to his office so they could spend the next few minutes holding and kissing each other. They kept their little rendezvous' short and quiet, so they wouldn't raise any suspicion, immediately going back to work once they were finished for the time being.

Elizabeth and her family visited on Tuesday, the young woman having insisted to her family that, as Ciel's future wife, it was important to establish a good relationship with the servants. In doing such, it was only polite that they attend the vigil and funeral for Sebastian's parents and try to support him in his grief.

"Sebastian, do you know how to fence?" Elizabeth asked him curiously as the young butler served her and her family tea.

"I'm afraid fencing isn't a part of my repertoire yet, lady Elizabeth." Sebastian replied to her honestly.

"I could teach you, if you'd like." She offered with a happy smile up at the man.

"He'd have to do something with his hair, first. How any man would be able to fence with hair in his face is beyond me." Francis commented with a small frown, the woman already having forced Ciel into pushing his dark hair back away from his face. "But, then we'd have a better view of his lecherous face. So, I suppose it's a lesser of two evils."

Sebastian glanced over at the woman, silently wondering how such a straight-laced, stern woman could have raised a sweet, lovely girl like Elizabeth. Instead of paying any attention to insults, he just smiled sweetly at Elizabeth as he finished serving the tea. "I would be honored to have you as my teacher, lady Elizabeth."

Elizabeth just grinned up at him happily and patted his shoulder as she and her brother, father, and mother sipped their tea. Sebastian let them have their tea in peace, telling them to call for him if they needed anything.

"You might be a little too hard on the boy, Francis. I think he's a rather handsome young man." Sebastian heard Alexis comment as he walked away to continue working for the day until he was called back to clear away all the dishes for the family.

"Sebastian, do you want to fence now? We can keep the tips on and I'll go easy on you." Elizabeth asked him eagerly.

Sebastian smiled gently at her. "Of course, lady Elizabeth. Just allow me to bring these dishes back to the kitchen and I'll meet you wherever you please."

"How about the ball room? It'll give us a lot of space. I can ask Ciel if he wants to join us." Elizabeth asked, grinning back at him.

Sebastian nodded to her. "That sounds wonderful. I'll do my best not to keep you waiting for too long."

Elizabeth nodded and happily went off to find her fiancé while Sebastian took care of the dirty dishes. She smiled when the butler met the two of them in the ballroom, the man carrying along a few foils for them to use that Ciel usually used in his fencing lessons.

Sebastian let Elizabeth get to work, the young woman helping him with his stance, gently guiding his legs and hips into position. She then showed him how to properly hold the foil, doing the actions herself. She and Ciel taught him the basic movements and how to generally maneuver around with the foil.

"You're such a quick study, Sebastian. Now if I lunged at you like this-" Elizabeth said before lunging at the butler with her sword, the man quickly stepping to the side.

"I dodge." Sebastian replied with a small smile to Elizabeth.

"Exactly. And we kind of continue like that, trying to hit each other." She replied with a nod. "I could show you how with Ciel, though he's not that great."

"Hey, I am good! You only knocked me down a lot when we were kids because you had more experience." Ciel protested, grabbing a foil and getting into position. "I'll take you on right now, Lizzy, unless you're afraid of me."

"Ciel, I'll never be afraid of you, I'm sorry." Elizabeth replied with a happy smile, getting into position with her fiancé.

Sebastian stepped off to the side by the rest of the Midford family, watching the pair start to fight each other with the foils, taking in how the movements generally worked. It didn't take long for Ciel to wind up falling to the ground on his backside.

"Fine, fine, you win." Ciel said with a sigh as Sebastian rushed over to help his master up to his feet.

"Are you alright, sir? Do you need ice?" Sebastian asked Ciel, straightening out the other man's clothes and dusting them off gently.

"No, I'm fine. I want to see how you fare against her." Ciel replied, looking up at Sebastian. "Maybe you'll be a bit better."

"I will do my best, sir." Sebastian replied, taking his place in front of Elizabeth.

"Shall I go easy on you, Sebastian? Since you're a beginner, I mean." The girl asked with a happy smile up at the butler.

"No need, I think I understand how it all works." Sebastian replied with a shake of his head.

"Well, if you're sure." Elizabeth replied, a bit tentatively, but getting into position nonetheless.

It was Edward who made the call for the impromptu match to start. Ciel stood aside, watching Sebastian fence with Elizabeth, the man jumping away from each of her lunges, dodging each attack she made. The butler kept on the balls of his feet, moving quickly and smoothly, as if he'd been fencing since the day he was born. As the minutes passed and the match went on, Ciel could see Elizabeth getting visibly frustrated with each time Sebastian dodged her attacks. Finally, the girl lunged quickly, pointing the covered tip of her foil just between Sebastian's eyes.

Sebastian saw the foil coming and acted on impulse, quickly arching backwards, letting himself fall to his knees, bent back so his back hit the ground. He pulled himself back up as quickly as he fell and, seemingly in a whirl of black, finally landed a touch on the girl with the tip of the sword.

Elizabeth looked up at Sebastian with wide green eyes, the room staying silent for a few moments after the match ended.

Sebastian smiled happily down at Elizabeth, putting his sword down. "I'm afraid I win this one, lady Elizabeth."

"I'm afraid so. Good job, Sebastian." Elizabeth replied with a happy smile up at the butler.

"My God, boy, where did you learn to move like that?" Alexis asked.

"Why, I learned everything from Miss Elizabeth just now, sir." Sebastian replied with a happy smile to him.

"She only spent a few minutes teaching you the very basics, though. There's no way, it's impossible…"

"With all due respect, sir, nothing is ever 'impossible' for a Phantomhive servant. If I couldn't pick up a new skill such as this, what kind of butler would I be?"


	14. Chapter 14

Sebastian spent the rest of the day working, as per usual, only stopping when it came time for them all to leave for the Vigil. He made sure the notes he'd written for his eulogy were in his pocket before following everyone out to the coaches that would take them to the church. He remained silent for the entire ride, getting out of the coach and helping Ciel down once they arrived at the familiar church.

He followed the group of people inside the building. They were some of the first people there, but there were a few others already milling around. The two coffins holding the bodies were on display up near the altar, flanked by what looked like a hundred flowers on either side.

Sebastian spent the extra time before the vigil talking to other members of the church and the people who'd worked with his parents and friends of the family. He found himself getting tight hugs from people he'd never known existed before or who'd barely ever spoken to him.

"You haven't attended mass for, what, a month now? You look like you aged a couple years in that time and became a young man rather than a teenager." One of the older women commented with a happy laugh.

"A rather handsome young man, too. It's a shame you chose a life of servitude, really. I would have had half a mind to introduce you to my daughter." Another older woman agreed with a small smile.

"It's a shame about your parents. Elisabeth was always such a sweetheart. Andrew was very kind, too. Quiet, but kind. You look so much like both of them." The first woman said with a small sigh.

Sebastian talked with the women a bit longer until the call to get things started came and he parted from the pair to take his seat in the pews next to Finny. The priest called the mass to session with exchanges of peace before starting with the first of the night's prayers. Every so often, Sebastian would notice Finny yawn next to him. However, Bard would reach over and pinch him the moment the gardener started to nod off.

Sebastian was the first person to be called up to give a eulogy. He swallowed before getting up from his seat. As he walked up the aisle, Elizabeth handed him a handkerchief silently. He took it and got his notes out so he would know what to say. He took his place at the front of the congregation, swallowing as he looked out over the mass of people. He'd never really spoken to a crowd like that before. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself as much as he could.

"Firstly, I would like to thank all of you for coming here tonight. I didn't know how many people would show up, but I never imagined it would be this many. I suppose my parents touched many more lives than I ever kept track of. My mother and father's last day was spent watching me at my job and monitoring me and my master to make sure that I was doing well and was in a good place. Up until very recently, I never paid much attention to or noticed the way they did almost everything they did for my sake. They threw themselves into poverty, knowing full well what they were doing, so they would have enough money to make sure I survived past infancy. They sacrificed nearly everything for me. They always made sure I was fed when I went to bed at night, even if it meant that they had to go to sleep on an empty stomach. Sending me to work in Earl Phantomhive's manor was their last and most rewarding sacrifice for me. I imagine it must be no easy thing for a parent to send away their child, even if their child is as stubborn and headstrong as I've been told I am."

Sebastian looked away from the audience that was all watching him, glancing down at his notes, then over at Ciel. He looked over the audience once again, biting his lip before continuing. He couldn't help but notice as Grell silently slipped into an empty pew in the back of the congregation, the reaper smiling and waving to him.

"Throughout my life, I did everything I possibly could to please my parents and make them happy with me. My mother, who wore her heart on her sleeve, always told me that she loved me and that she was proud of me. My father was much more reserved, however, so I always felt I had to earn his approval. Thanks to someone I met recently, I now know that he was extremely proud of me and loved me very much. He was meaning to tell me so when he died." Sebastian continued, his voice breaking as he felt the familiar feeling of overwhelming sadness. He looked down and used the handkerchief to wipe away imaginary tears, figuring people might find it odd if he didn't cry at his parents' funeral.

"I know that they are in a much better place now, where they won't have to worry about finances or go to bed hungry ever again. I know I should be happy for them, because they're at peace. Everyone says that you shouldn't mourn a person's death, but celebrate their life instead. I wish it was easily done as it is said. In my first days away from home, I felt extremely alone and homesick, despite the fact that I was surrounded by people. The homesickness has gone away now, thankfully, but, as I mourn them, I feel alone and terrified once again. It's hard for me to believe that they're gone and that I'll never get another letter from them or another hug or anything. It hurts to think that Easter is coming soon and they won't be around to enjoy it. My mother loved the spring flowers, and it pains me that she'll never see them again, and-"

Sebastian felt himself starting to tearlessly cry, looking down at the altar to avoid all the eyes that were watching him. He tried to collect himself, so he wouldn't start openly sobbing in front of everyone watching him. He jumped when he felt a hand gently rest on his back, looking over to see Ciel next to him.

"Come on, you don't have to do anymore." He said softly, gently guiding his weeping butler back down to the pews to sit next to Finny once again.

Finny frowned at the sight of the butler crying, moving to rub his back as gently as he could so he wouldn't accidentally hurt the man. After a little while, he hugged Sebastian from the side while a few other people gave their own eulogies. "Don't worry, Mr. Sebastian. You're not the only one crying here." He whispered to the butler.

Sebastian just sat with the other servants, staying silent for the rest of the service until the priest dismissed them all with blessings of peace. Sebastian got a lot of hugs from a lot of strangers before he ended up leaving the building with the other servants, Ciel, and the Midfords. He noticed Grell standing off to the side out of the corner of his eye, the reaper slipping out and disappearing once they were all in their coaches once again.

Once they'd returned home, the Midfords and Ciel decided it was about time to start getting ready to retire for the night.

"Sebastian, don't worry about the rest of tonight's duties. Go tell the other servants the same thing and then get your nightshirt on and come back here." Ciel said as Sebastian helped him change into his pajamas.

"Master?"

"I want you to share a bed with me tonight. Today's been hard enough on you, and tomorrow will be just as bad. I don't feel right leaving you to sleep all alone." Ciel said, reaching down to gently cup his butler's cheek.

"Master, are you sure? It's very risky, especially with the Midfords here. If they found out or saw anything, you would-"

Ciel leaned down and cut Sebastian off by pressing a kiss to his lips warmly, the action silently telling his butler to stop talking.

"I'm sure, Sebastian. We won't do anything other than sleep and, maybe, kiss a few times. Nothing too terrible." Ciel said softly, pressing their foreheads together.

Sebastian nodded in understanding, letting Ciel hold him and kiss his forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can, then, sir."

"I can't wait." Ciel replied, letting his butler go.

Sebastian worked quickly to do as he'd been told, sending the other servants off to bed for the night and quickly donning his nightshirt afterwards. Once he was changed, he silently went back up the stairs to his master's room. He let himself into the room and slipped inside to join Ciel in the bed, crawling into the empty area next to his master.

"That was fast." Ciel said with a small smile as he felt the bed dip when Sebastian crept into it.

"I didn't want you to be lonely for too long, master." Sebastian replied.

"I can last a few minutes without you, believe it or not."

Sebastian just smiled and moved to wrap his arms around the smaller man and hold him close against himself. He felt Ciel lean into him and press against him lightly.

"Master?" He asked softly after a little bit.

"Yes?" Ciel replied, having buried his face in his butler's chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart.

"Are we going to stay like this? I mean, will this little relationship and these romantic rendezvous end when you marry Lady Elizabeth? Most women in the upper class marry between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, and Lady Elizabeth is eighteen as we speak. I don't know how long her parents will want to wait for her to be married." Sebastian asked, absentmindedly stroking Ciel's hair.

Ciel sighed softly at the question and held onto Sebastian a bit tighter, holding onto the fabric of his nightshirt. "I don't want to end this relationship I have with you. I don't love Elizabeth as a wife, but I'll marry her and have children with her because it's my duty. I don't expect I'll enjoy any of it. I want to keep having this relationship with you, because you make me feel safe and happy. Besides, I think it's best if we stay together while I'm married."

"Why do you think that, sir?"

"Because, I know that I'll always have someone to fall back on to keep me happy and satisfied, even if it's not my wife. By having an affair with you, I'll be able to stay nice and happy, so my marriage with Elizabeth won't suffer."

Sebastian looked down at Ciel at the answer, mulling over the thought of continuing forward to have an extramarital affair with his master, while simultaneously caring for him, his wife, and whatever children they had together. Elizabeth was sweet and kind to him, and he wasn't sure how much he liked the idea of going behind her back and stealing the affections from her husband. If she found out, she'd most likely be extremely heartbroken and angry. However, he hated the idea of being away from Ciel even more, as well as having to live with him and serve him for the rest of his life, never again getting a kiss from the man he'd loved for a majority of his life.

"I see. Very well then, we'll continue with this. It might be selfish of me, but I didn't want to give you up completely, anyways." Sebastian replied with a nod to Ciel, smiling when Ciel leaned up and kissed him warmly on the mouth.

Sebastian hugged Ciel tightly, kissing the other man in return and rubbing his back gently. They kissed and kissed and, though Sebastian wished it would never end, stopped when Ciel needed to break for air. They eventually fell asleep in each other's arms, resting next to each other happily all through the night.

When Ciel woke up the next morning, he found Sebastian already completely dressed with his morning tea ready, standing next to the bed rather than laying with him in it. Part of him wished it had been the latter, so he would be able to see for himself what Sebastian's face looked like when he was sleeping peacefully.

No matter what he wished for, however, Ciel's morning went as it usually did until breakfast ended and everyone in the manor departed for the funeral service at the church once again.

For the most part, Ciel followed along with the service, though he didn't really know what all to expect. The funeral service was more of a worshipping service than an expression of grief. The priest lead the congregation through various prayers and hymns and sermons that all seemed to praise God for Christ's victory over sin and death and commend Him for His mercy and compassion. He was personally just happy that the service had a much more lighthearted tone to it than the vigil had.

The Rite of Committal was held in a nearby cemetery, and Ciel couldn't help but wonder how a person could say so many prayers in one day. He glanced over at Sebastian as they watched the pair of coffins be lowered into the graves that were dug in front of the tombstones. He personally was glad that the tombstones had come out so nicely. Sure, the pair had spent a good portion of their lives in poverty, but he figured giving them pretty headstones was the most respectful thing he could do. After all, they gave him his butler, who he knew would soon become the best butler in the country, if not the world.

Once the burial had ended, a few people gave their last hugs and sentiments to Sebastian before leaving the cemetery to go home. Ciel watched from the sidelines as Sebastian received all the hugs, the group staying until everyone had gone.

Sebastian fought the urge to start crying once again as he just stood and looked at his parents' names engraved on the headstones, along with the flowers he and a few other people had set at the ground around them. Finny eventually went over to hug the butler tightly around the waist.

"There's no shame in crying, Mr. Sebastian. Especially for something like this." He said softly, the idea of death making him start to cry as well, even if he'd only met the pair once.

Sebastian let himself start crying tearlessly once again, promising himself it would be the last time for a while. He felt the other servants come over to hug him as well, the three of them holding onto him tightly. When they finally pulled away, Sebastian couldn't help but notice the way Mey-Rin's tears had fogged over her glasses, rendering them entirely useless. The woman didn't seem to care, though, and just continued to cling on to him.

Sebastian sighed a bit after a while. "Alright, alright, let me go now. If we stay out here much longer, we're all going to be getting fevers." He said, shaking the trio off.

With that, he walked with Ciel and the Midfords back to the coaches that were waiting to take them all home. He promised Elizabeth he'd have her handkerchief laundered and return it to her the next time she visited before the girl got into her family's coach.

"Thank you, Sebastian. I don't think you'll have to wait too long, though. Mother thinks it's high time we really started on wedding preparations, and I think Father agrees." The girl replied to him, smiling up at the butler. "I'll be sure to let you know before we all come, though, so you have plenty of time to put your hair back. Maybe that way, Mother won't pick on you as much."

Sebastian smiled to her gently in reply. "Thank you, lady Elizabeth. Your consideration is heartwarming."

"You're sweet, Sebastian. I can't wait until I can call you my butler, too." Elizabeth replied, letting him help her up into her coach so she could go back home with her family.

"We'll be eagerly awaiting your call, Miss. I fear the manor will be rather dull without you to liven it up."

Elizabeth grinned at him happily and waved to Ciel and the servants as Sebastian shut the door of her coach, letting the driver take them home.

Sebastian rode home with Ciel and the other three servants, life returning to it's usual routine. He spent his days working in the manor, and spent any free time he had trying to study more and more skills from books in the manor's library that might make him an even better butler. He found he had become an extremely quick study, especially since he didn't necessarily have to sleep.

Instead, he started to keep watch over the house at night while the others slept. He taught himself to play the piano in the drawing room, as well as how to tune it when he realized the keys didn't sound quite right. Once he had decided he'd practically mastered the piano, he moved on to teach himself to play the violin, often finding himself playing by candlelight or moonlight while the rest of the house slept. What he poured most of his interest into, however, was demonology. He knew the books in the manor's library probably weren't the most accurate things, but they were a lot better than nothing. One night, when he felt especially daring, he stole away into the kitchen to see exactly how close he could get to a little pile of salt he'd poured out on the countertop. In the end, he found that there was nothing painful about the salt or anything about it that could really harm him. The only thing that made him wary of it was the small inkling in the back of his head that it wasn't a substance to be trusted and ought to be approached with caution. It wouldn't hurt him, but for some reason, he still didn't like it and didn't want to have anything to do with it.

Soon enough, the phone call came that made him finally acknowledge the inevitable.

"So, will everything be alright if they come over tomorrow? Just for the day, really, I don't think they're planning on staying over night." The Midford's servant asked over the phone the next morning.

"Of course it is. When should we expect them?" Sebastian replied, wondering if Ciel had any idea how to help plan a wedding.

"Expect them around ten, but no later than elven."

"Wonderful. I'll be sure to tell my master right away."

"Mr. Sebastian, who's on the phone?" Finny whispered to him, the gardener having nothing to do but shake snow off of trees every so often. Sebastian just held a finger to his lips to shush him until after the phone call had ended.

"Who was on the phone, Mr. Sebastian?" Finny asked again as he hung it up on the stand.

"A servant from the Midford house." Sebastian replied to the gardener.

"And? What did they say? What were you talking about?" Finny asked eagerly, bouncing where he stood.

Sebastian rested his hands on the other's shoulders to hold him still. "The Midford family will be paying a visit here tomorrow in order to start on wedding preparations for Master and Lady Elizabeth's wedding."

Finny grinned at that, starting to bounce around happily once again. "Lady Elizabeth's coming over again? Do you think she'll bring us presents?"

"Finnian, you can't just presume she's going to bring presents every time she visits."

Finny didn't hear him, though, because the gardener had already run off to tell Tanaka, Bard, and Mey-Rin that Elizabeth was coming and would probably bring them gifts.

Sebastian just shook his head and continued with his work as he heard the group celebrating in the kitchen, wondering when his coworkers had all gotten so stupid.


End file.
